20 of the best energy gels, drinks and snacks to stop you flagging mid-run (2024)

Score: 9.5/10

The favoured fuel of elite athletes, including Eliud Kipchoge, so it’s no surprise that it scored highly with our panel. Its unique hydrogel technology helps to speed and increase carbohydrate absorption, while reducing the risk of digestive issues.

Our testers noted a tangible difference in performance, boosting energy mid-run, and also felt it was gentle on their stomachs. The consistency is thicker than its competitors, but it’s water-based so quickly dissolves on the tongue

Per 40g serving

Score 9.5/10

Struggle with gels? Consider these natural energy chews (made with fruit juices, beet sugar, cinnamon, coconut water and pink Himalayan salt) as your run fuel of choice. Our panel raved about the gooey, melt-in-your-mouth texture – and approved of the moreish fruity flavour. Each pack contains six cubes, each offering 7g of quick-acting carbs to replenish your energy store and, unlike many gels, they weren’t sticky or messy.

Per 50g pack

Score: 9.5/100

Packing 40g of carbs to power you on, our testers found it slipped down easily and reported a welcome stamina boost. It has a 1:0.8 blend of maltodextrin to fructose to protect against digestive disasters and enable speedy absorption. Sure enough, our panel found it gentle on their stomachs and loved the fruity flavour.

Per 60ml serving

Score: 9/10

This is also formulated with a 1:0.8 blend of maltodextrin and fructose to help you absorb more carbs per hour without upsetting your stomach. Plus, it features active ingredients such as L-citrulline and L-arginine to help fight fatigue. The neutral syrupy taste and runny consistency went down well with our testers, who found it easy to knock back on the run. The quick-tear packaging received mixed reviews, but all appreciated the lack of additives on the ingredients list.

Per 75ml serving

Score: 9/10

Made with natural ingredients – including brown rice syrup, maple syrup and fruit juices – this delivers 75mg of natural caffeine from guarana extract, along with 110mg of sodium to replenish your sweat losses. Its smooth consistency made it easy to get down, and our panel praised the packaging and pocket-friendly size – it tore open easily and wasn’t bulky in their running belts. Performance-wise, everyone felt a boost and no digestive problems were reported.

Per 33g serving

Score: 8.5/10

A big-hitter with 40g of carbs and a mighty 200mg of caffeine, plus nootropic ingredients (linked with brain function), including taurine, citicoline and theanine, to combat mental fatigue. Though research into nootropics is still in its infancy, our runners felt the gel aided their performance and helped them stay focused deep into long miles. It has that optimal blend of maltodextrin and fructose to avoid digestive issues and our panel enjoyed the smooth texture, though the sharp citrus flavour wasn’t for everyone.

Per 60ml pack

Score: 9.5/10

While most energy bars are oat-, flour- or nut-based, rice does the heavy lifting here and, according to our experts, this is great for those prone to GI troubles as it can be easier on the stomach. It’s high in carbs for energy, but low in fibre, fats and protein to prevent on-the-run digestive discomfort. The chewy texture and rich chocolate flavour also really impressed our taste testers, who described it as just like a delicious rice crispy treat.

Per 72g bar

Score: 9/10

For out-all-day ultrarunners or anyone who prefers something solid over gooey gels as the miles pile up. Made with almond butter, date paste and brown rice protein, as well as raisins, seeds, sprouts and agave syrup, the soft, gooey texture goes down well mid-run. The natural, nutty flavour proved popular with testers, and our nutritionists gave the breakdown of carbs (25g) sugars (15g) and fat (9g) their seal of approval.

Per 50g bar

Score: 9/10

Loaded with 47g of fast-acting carbs, 100mg of caffeine and 2g of beta alanine to boost your focus, prevent lactic acid build-up and fight fatigue. The crumbly, fudgy texture and zesty flavour earned our panel’s seal of approval. They also rated its portability – it’ll fit neatly into your running belt, and you can easily snap it into four bite-size pieces for snacking as you go.

Per 47g bar

Score: 9.5/10

Our turbo-charged champ packs 80g of carbs per serving for a hefty energy boost and unlike many energy supps, which provide a 3:1 glucose to fructose ratio, this has the magic 1:0.8 blend of maltodextrin to fructose. This allows your body to process more carbs per hour with less risk of GI issues. Our panel found the powder dissolved quickly in water, with no lumps or residue, and the light consistency and subtle orange flavour made it easy to drink on the move.

Per 82g serving

Score: 9.5/10

This plant-powered drink offers a good caffeine kick along with 1500mg of BCAAs to fight fatigue and aid recovery, 165mg of electrolytes for hydration and 16mg of energy-yielding vitamin C. Our experts were impressed with the all-natural ingredients list featuring green tea, green coffee, beetroot sugar and Himalayan rock salt. Testers also thought the level of carbonation was spot on and the sweet pineapple flavour reminded them of a tropical co*cktail, but it wasn’t cloying on the palate.

Per 330ml can

Score: 9.5/10

For those missing a sweet tooth, the neutral taste won’t overwhelm when you’re 20 miles in. Each single-serve sachet packs 60g of carbs with that quicker absorption/less GI issues 1:0.8 maltodextrin to fructose ratio. It also delivers electrolytes to fight dehydration and L-glutamine to aid alertness and muscle repair. The powder dissolved well in water, the texture wasn’t too thick, and our panel found the neutral flavour was a refreshing change to often sickly energy drinks.

Per 72g serving

Score: 9/10

Packed with a whopping 90g of carbs per serving (the highest in this category) and using an optimal combination of dextrin to fructose to get energy to your muscles quickly. The addition of B vitamins, glutamine and electrolytes should help keep you rolling when the wheels start falling off. If you want caffeine you’ll need to look elsewhere, but the light berry flavour wasn’t too synthetic, according to our taste testers.

Per 93g serving

Score: 8.5/10

This fruity blend, made with just five real-food ingredients – organic pineapple and lemon, baobab, organic cane sugar and pink Himalayan salt – was a big hit with our testers. They loved the sweet-yet-sharp pineapple taste and thought the texture was just right, too. Along with a relatively modest 25g of carbs, each serving offers a dose of calcium, potassium and vitamin C. The packaging is fully recyclable and a proportion of all 33Fuel profits go to One Tree Planted to support reforestation.

Per 25g serving

Runners equipped with OTE energy gels are a common sight on race day, and now we know why. Not only do you get a decent energy kick via the 20g of carbs per 56g, but it also provides a healthy dose of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium) to replace those lost through sweat.

Its consistency is wetter than many other gels, making it easy to guzzle, and our panel praised its innovative packaging, which tears open in two places for sipping or chugging. It also scored points for its sweet, Ribena-esque flavour.

All in all, a convenient and tasty fuelling option.