Did you know that it's easy to make your own high-performance endurance gels that are directly comparable to the best gels on the market? In this video, TRACER Co-founder Joey Wilson teaches you how to make your own endurance fuel, saving you money and giving you complete control of thickness and flavor. Compare the ingredients to your favorite gels!

Why make your own gel?

COST - It’s much less expensive to make your own gels. If you do it yourself, the cost is well under 50 cents per 100 calories. When you buy gel off the shelf, 100 calories typically costs in the range of $1.60 - $4.00. Add that up over a season of training, and it ends up being a lot!

CONTROL - You can adjust the recipe of your gel to dial it to exactly what you want. You can adjust the thickness or add other ingredients like electrolytes or caffeine.

CONVENIENCE - Drinking gel straight from the same flask makes it way easier when you're moving. No trash to clean up, no stickiness on your fingers to deal with.

EASY - It’s really easy to make this recipe, and likely takes less time than driving to the store to buy gels.

TASTE - This recipe tastes great and it’s fun to experiment with different flavors. Any juice or flavoring can be used.

Stuff you need

Maltodextrin powder - This is a powder consisting of long chains of glucose, the simplest form of fuel for your body. It’s less sweet than glucose in pure form, but still just as easy for your body to absorb.

Fructose powder - A different form of sugar than glucose that gets absorbed through a different gut enzyme. Adding this allows you to absorb more calories per hour.

Juice or mixer flavoring - get at grocery store

Hydrapak Nutrition Flasks - For easy carrying and consumption of your gel.

Kitchen scale - To measure grams and ounces easily.

How to Make the Gel (400 calories, 100 grams)

1. Add 50 grams of maltodextrin to a pot

2. Add 50 grams of fructose powder

3. Add about 1 oz of juice

4. Add about 1-3 oz of water, depending on the desired thickness

5. Heat (but don't overcook) while stirring the powders together until all clumps are gone

6. Place in flask and use!

Scale this recipe to larger batches as desired.

Nerdy Stuff

Ratio of glucose to fructose

There are various theories about how to mix the ratio of glucose (maltodextrin) to fructose. In this recipe, we used a 1:1 ratio. Many companies are using a 1:.8 ratio, and classic gels like the original GU uses 2:1.

Sucrose (Table sugar)

Sucrose is the common table sugar that you already have in your pantry. Each molecule of sucrose is one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule bound together by an oxygen atom. It makes for great endurance fuel and is very inexpensive. It’s just very sweet, so it can get overwhelming when you have to eat/drink it for a long time. Great for short, high intensity workouts. Every tablespoon of sucrose is worth about 50 calories.

In this episode, we get some amazing 2025 gift ideas from pro trail runners Max King and Amy Rusiecki, hosted by Tracer co-founder Joey Wilson. All gifts linked below! Subscribe to the TRACER podcast for more great conversations on getting faster, great gear, science-backed training, and more. Listen via your favorite podcasting app, or watch on Youtube!

Stocking Stuffers

Max: Deschutes Brewery Obsidian Stout

Max: Nerds Candy - local stores

Amy: “Cheerleader gloves” - local stores

Amy: Frame + printed photo

Joey: Silicon pill containers for storing salt pills and other small items

Joey: Zipper bags for organizing in vest/pack

Approx. $25

Max: AOS Skindoctor Salve for foot care and blister prevention

Amy: Goodr Sunglasses - I prefer the OGs in any bright color!

Amy: Drymax Socks - I prefer the HyperThin 

Joey: Hydrapak nutrition bottle 2-pack

Joey: Grip6 socks

Approx. $50-$100

Max: Heated Gloves, any brand but Max has these

Amy: Kahtoola Microspikes

Amy: TrailHeads Convertible Gloves

Joey: Salomon XA Filter Flask

Approx. $200

Max: Shoes - Salomon S/Lab UltraGlide - Coming February in USA

Max: Shoes - Salomon Winter Cross Spike

Max: ORORO Heated vest

Amy:  Inov8 Oroc aka spikey shoes

Amy: ​Coros Pace 3 watch

Joey: Rollerblade Lightning 3x110 inline skates

Joey: Salomon ADV 12 vest

$500+

Max: Max King Trail Running Camps - Youth and Adult Camps

Max: Salomon MTN 86 Carbon Skis

Amy: Entry fee into your next race

Amy: Nutrition coaching plan

Joey: Theragun Pro Plus (or any model of Theragun)

Will fueling your running really make that big of a difference? Is sugar bad for people, especially athletes? How much fueling is too much? Can you make your own energy gels and drinks for training and racing? These important questions are discussed with fueling experts Alex Harrison and Michelle Howe in this edition of the TRACER podcast.

Watch here or search "The TRACER Podcast" in your favorite podcast app!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more conversations that will help you get faster, or subscribe to the podcast by searching for "The TRACER Podcast" in your favorite podcasting app.

We recently had a great discussion with some of the world's fastest trail runners, Tabor and Eli Hemming. Don't miss this great discussion on how to train better, dealing with bad training days, heat training, consistency, and more!

Watch here or listen via your favorite podcast player by searching for "The TRACER Podcast."

In this episode of the TRACER podcast, Max King describes his win at one of the world's hardest stage races, The Dragon's Back. He shares what he's learned through his many ultramarathon wins about recovery, training, muscular endurance, and much more. If you're a trail runner, there are many great takeaways from this episode that you can put into practice, even if you're not doing a stage race any time soon.

To get Max's adaptive training programs, check out his TRACER programs.

Max King's trail running camps: https://www.maxkingtrc.com/

Corrine Malcolm is a professional trail runner, coach, and broadcaster. In this episode of the TRACER Podcast, she discusses some of the most common mistakes that trail runners make. Should you train fasted or fueled? Should you use a static training plan? How does comparing yourself to others sabotage your own progress? How much of your training should be easy vs hard? Listen to find out!

Check out Corrine's 100K/100M TRACER program for your next ultra!

Sodium chloride, commonly known as salt, is a crucial nutrient for athletes. It helps maintain proper water balance within the body. When the balance between water and sodium gets disrupted, an endurance athlete's performance can rapidly decline. Additionally, dangerous situations can arise if this imbalance isn't restored.

In this episode of the TRACER podcast, registered sports dietitian Kristen Davis tackles key questions for endurance athletes. These questions include: How much sodium is needed during exercise? Is plain water enough in hot weather? How can we determine our individual sweat sodium loss? And what are the signs of low sodium? Training for an trail ultra or marathon?

Subscribe to our YouTube channel or via your favorite podcast app!

Get an adaptive, intelligent training program designed by a pro by checking out our TRACER programs.

Have you ever heard the phrase "run slower to get faster?" Is that really true? What is Zone 2 training? In this episode, professional coach Scott Johnston and author of "Training for the Uphill Athlete" talks about how to get faster and suffer less through proper aerobic training. Start getting faster today with proper aerobic training via a TRACER adaptive program.

Get the "Training for the Uphill Athlete" book here: https://www.amazon.com/Training-Uphill-Athlete-Mountain-Mountaineers/dp/1938340841/

Trail running legend Max King sat down with Joey for a discussion on how to build fitness, how to have a great race day, and what Max thinks are the most important aspects of finding success in endurance sports. Check it out!

Sage Canaday is an elite mountain runner with multiple wins and course records at the Speedgoat 50K, one of the most competitive mountain races in the USA. In this episode, Sage talks about how to develop speed year over year, and how to sharpen fitness as race day approaches. As a creator with over 250,000 followers on his own YouTube channel, Sage also talks about the power of publishing, as well as doing new things that you aren't yet good at.