Island Boost Review

As a distance runner I am always looking for the best way to fuel my run, but in the past I have had a lot of bad experiences. I started out trying sports beans since I have texture issues and the thought of anything named a Gu made my stomach turn. Unfortunately, my stomach didn’t like the beans any better. Within 5 to 10 minutes of taking them I would start to get a stomachache and they felt like a rock in my gut. I then moved on to gummies and while they didn’t give me any stomach issues I found it a bit difficult to breathe while chewing them and they took way too long to eat. Here enters Island Boost!

While the packaging looks a lot like all the Gus and gels out there, their consistency is quite a bit different, which was a huge plus for me! The main thing contributing to the consistency difference is coconut water! That’s right there is coconut water in the fuel so there is no need to chase it down with a bunch of water. I found this to also be a big plus because too much water tends to make me feel sluggish.

Here are some things from the Island Boost website that they wants us to remember about their product:

• Faster fuel formulated with glucose, the fastest energy source that is absorbed into the bloodstream quicker to fuel muscles
• No need to drink a bottle of water to dissolve the carbohydrates, they’re readily absorbed via the coconut water
• No artificial sweeteners, flavors and shelf stable for a year
• Vegan and gluten free
• Delicious frozen for those runs on hot days

The last thing on that list really stood out to me. Here in Central California we have had  100+ degree temps for 16 days and counting so I put those bad boys in the freezer the minute they came into the house.

Island Boost comes in 3 flavors Passion Fruit, Strawberry -Orange, and Blueberry –Pomegranate. I decided to do things a little differently this morning and use the Passion Fruit one before my 6am run. If you have read any of my race recaps you would see the common theme that 1) I am not a morning person and 2) I have major issues trying to eat in the early morning hours, so I figured this might be a good alternative to me gaging down a banana and hoping for the best.

My initial reaction was that I loved that it was a liquid, but I didn’t love the taste. I am pretty sure this is because I don’t like coconut water. I wish I did, I know it’s great for me, but I just don’t like it. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t get it down, and if you like coconut water I am sure you would like it a lot more then I did.

I have to say I was a little unsure if it would work and if it would be able to get me through a 6 mile run so I brought the strawberry-orange one along just in case. I am happy to report that I did just fine and did not need any additional fuel on my run.

I look forward to trying the other 2 flavors on future runs and seeing if I can find one that I like a little better than the one I tried today.

What are your “go to” race day breakfast and fuel choices?

(Disclaimer: I was provided with samples for the purpose of providing a review on my blog but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own)