Energy Gel Reviews
When I decided to start experimenting with energy supplements, I asked the Snook to pick me up some at the health shop near his office. I also got some from our local GNC store. I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Energy gels and goos are notoriously unpalatable. Here are my quick impressions of the ones I’ve tried.

• PowerBar Gel (Chocolate) – Rating: 6/10. I tried this one a few months ago (before the Sydney Half) and described the taste as “medicated chocolate toothpaste”. It was very thick, almost like cake frosting that had gone bad. That said, I managed to get it down without gagging, and I definitely noticed a mental boost when I used it.
• Endura Gel (Vanilla) – Rating: 9/10. I had this gel halfway through the City2Surf two weeks ago. I was prepared for it to be awful, but I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture. “Hey, this is good!” I said to the Snook as I happily sucked on the packet. The consistency was thinner than the PowerBar Gel, which made it easier to ingest quickly. I didn’t notice any dramatic positive benefits, but it didn’t seem to do me any harm either.
• Endura Gel (Citrus) – Rating: 5/10. I was actually looking forward to sampling this gel on my long run yesterday, based on how much I liked the vanilla flavor. Unfortunately the Citrus is… not as good. The instant I tasted it, I immediately thought of lemon-lime dishwashing liquid. It was exactly that consistency and flavor. (Not that I’ve tasted dishwashing liquid, but you know what I mean.) And once I had that image in my head, I couldn’t get rid of it. Someone without that association may find this gel tasty, but I’ll never be able to use it now.
• Elite Fuel Supply Squeezepacks (Tropical) – Rating: 1/10. Dear god, this is AWFUL. I could tell even before opening it that the consistency of this one – unlike the others – was extremely liquid. It felt like an unfrozen Otter Pop. Unfortunately the pleasant childhood associations ended there. I thought, “Tropical! How bad can that be?” It was like the worst medicine you ever tasted as a kid. I actually shuddered involuntarily after the first swallow, it was that bad. (I was near a water fountain in Centennial Park, and another runner was having a drink at the time. I looked at him and blurted out “THIS IS THE WORST THING EVER!” before I could even stop myself. He just gave me an odd look and ran off.) I couldn’t even finish the thing. I choked down about two swallows and then squeezed the rest out into the water fountain. NEVER AGAIN.

Anyone have any energy gel favorites that I haven’t tried yet?