Last weekend was my son’s seventh birthday.  Instead of a cake, he wanted apple pie.  So I found a recipe for mason jar hand pies and went to work.

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They turned out so cute and were so great for a party!  No plates or forks to deal with.  So yummy.  And with the leftovers, I crumbled a few into my homemade vanilla ice cream (coconut-milk based) and made apple pie ice cream. Dangerously good.

As I was making the apple pie filling, I thought, this would be so good as an endurance gel!  I couldn’t find anything online to use as a base recipe, so I made my own.  I think I have a new favorite!

Your body can only handle so much sugar during long distance running, but it has been shown that a 2:1 mix of glucose to fructose allows your body to absorb more than either source alone. Plain corn syrup (not high-fructose) is a cheap and easily available source.  Agave syrup is anywhere from 50-90% fructose (it’s hard to pin that number down since processing varies), so I like to use a mix of those syrups in my gels.  They both have a light texture that is easy to swallow on a run, rather than a thick, toothpasty feel that some commercial gels have.

Instead of chopping apples and boiling them down for syrup, I bought a can of frozen apple juice concentrate (55% fructose, 20% sucrose, 25% glucose) and it worked beautifully.  With the addition some salt for sodium and some cinnamon and ginger for flavor and potential anti-cramp powers, I had some seriously tasty fuel for pennies.  Because the apple juice concentrate has so much sugar, this gel has more calories than my usual recipe with the same volume, which I think is a good thing.  Less to carry!

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Apple Pie Endurance Gel

Claire Bartholic
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon frozen apple juice concentrate
  • 3 tablespoons pure corn syrup Karo is a good brand
  • 1 tablespoon agave syrup
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions
 

  • Mix all ingredients well and pour into a gel flask (silicone travel bottles work great!) or into homemade FoodSaver bags.
  • Store in freezer until ready to use.

Notes

Each gel contains 147 calories, 34 carbohydrates, and 173mg of sodium.

About Claire


Coach Claire has helped hundreds of runners chase their dreams and conquer big goals. Her coaching philosophy combines science-based training, plant-based nutrition, and mindset techniques to unlock every runner's true potential. She's an ASFA certified running coach, sports nutrition specialist, a 2:58 marathoner, mom, and borderline obsessive plant lover.

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