Maurten

We stock Maurten at Run4It because we believe it’s one of the best sources of fuel for running and endurance training. The Swedish brand Maurten is well known for their revolutionary hydrogel technology. However, some people don’t know about hydrogel technology and just know that Eliud Kipchoge used Maurten when he ran 1:59:40 for 26.2 miles at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge. Maurten is used by some of the best athletes across other disciplines too, such as cycling and triathlon. While Maurten is available on most Ironman branded races, it’s the choice of many top triathlon pros, including the Ironman World Champion Gustav Iden. The Maurten GEL 100 and Maurten GEL 100 CAF are not normal sports gels. Unlike traditional sports gels, which are normally just sugar and water mixed together, Maurten GEL is hydrogel. Without going into lots of technical detail about hydrogel, think of it as carbohydrates that are encased in a jelly-like structure. The first benefit of hydrogel is that sugar doesn’t touch your teeth and this is one of the main reasons it was created in the first place. The hydrogel then enters your stomach and essentially hides the carbohydrates from your stomach. This helps the carbohydrates empty from your stomach faster and reduces the chances of gastrointestinal problems. While the benefits of Maurten GEL for protecting hygiene health are significant, the main reason runners opt for Maurten is because of how easy it is on your stomach during a run. If you’re wondering, the Maurten GEL 100 Caf (white packet) contains 100 milligrams of caffeine. That’s the only difference between the Maurten GEL 100 and Maurten GEL 100 CAF. As the caffeine is hidden in the hydrogel, you don’t get the bitter taste of caffeine that you commonly get in other brands. Both Maurten GEL products are tasteless, as Maurten believes it’s all about performance and doesn't want to compromise the performance of their products with extras. Both Maurten GEL 100 and GEL 100 CAF contain 25 grams of carbohydrates. That’s why they’re called 100, because each gram of carbohydrate is 4 kcals. The Maurten DRINK MIX is not a normal sports drink. The DRINK MIX turns into the hydrogel in your stomach. Most carbohydrate sports drinks cause stomach problems because they’re too concentrated. As the Maurten DRINK MIX turns into hydrogel, it solves this problem. The DRINK MIX 160 contains 40 grams of carbohydrates and the DRINK MIX 320 contains 80 grams of carbohydrates. We recommend using the Maurten DRINK MIX 320 as a carbohydrate loading drink the day before a race. It’s also very good as a race day breakfast, or meal replacement for races that start later in the day, when you don’t know what to eat. The Maurten DRINK MIX 320 CAF 100 contains 100 milligrams of caffeine and delivers a serious performance boost before a run. The Maurten DRINK MIX 160 is lighter in viscosity and taste. Even though they’re both tasteless, you’ll know what we mean. This makes the DRINK MIX 160 a better option during training sessions in our opinion. As good as the Maurten hydrogel technology is, we crave real food sometimes during a run. That’s why the Maurten SOLID was invented. The low fat and sugar content makes it very digestible. The Maurten SOLID 225 tastes a little bit like a rice crispy. The C in the Maurten SOLID 225 C doesn’t stand for caffeine, it means cocoa. As a result, it has a chocolatey taste. We also recommend using these to fuel your harder run sessions. For example, eating a Maurten SOLID 225 about 60-90 minutes before an interval session will improve your energy levels. They’re also a great fuel source during longer distance events, such as ultra marathons. The Maurten GEL 100, GEL 100 CAF, DRINK MIX 320 and DRINK MIX 320 CAF are all available to order from Run4It in box servings. If you’re looking for more advice on how to fuel your running training and racing, check out our How to fuel your marathon article on The Run4It Journal.