FOR LONG-COURSE ATHLETES · 4 MIN READ · UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
7 Reasons Long-Course Triathletes Are Swapping Their 40g Gel For One With Sodium
★ 4.8 FROM 300+ REVIEWS · CO-DESIGNED BY ALISTAIR BROWNLEE
Outdoor Session · Indoor Training
386mg
98mg
120g of carbs and about 1,100mg of sodium an hour.
Here's what it takes to carry it.
01
Your sodium stops arriving on a separate clock
The usual set-up asks a tired athlete to run two systems at once: gels every 20 minutes, sodium from something else, each on its own timing. Miss one aid station, drop one capsule, stop doing the sums in the heat, and the sodium falls behind while the carbs keep going in.
truefuels puts both in the same 40g gel. Take the gel, and the sodium comes with it. The only thing left in your bottle is water.
Sodium is what keeps the water you drink working for you. Keep it topped up every hour and you avoid the slow slide that hits late in long races: heavy legs, a foggy head, a pace that drifts. You finish the way you started.
A 40g gel with 200mg of sodium covers about half of what three High Salt gels deliver; a zero-sodium gel covers none of it.
"As a heavy sweater who needs approx 1500mg sodium per hour I have previously had to carry multiple products… not anymore."
VERIFIED CUSTOMER · ENERGY GEL MIX BOX · SCOTLAND
02
Gel number six tastes as good as gel number one
You know the feeling. By the third gel of a long day, the thought of another one makes you wince. That isn't you being fussy. Many gels lean on added flavourings, acids and sweeteners to cover the taste of the base, and the result is a syrupy, artificial sweetness that builds up sachet after sachet.
We went the other way. truefuels has no added flavourings and no artificial sweeteners. A small amount of Himalayan salt takes the edge off the sweetness, so it tastes clean and mild rather than sugary. It's the kind of taste you stop noticing, which is exactly what you want at hour four.
"I really like the taste of these gels and the consistency. The salt helps to take away some of the sweetness."
VERIFIED CUSTOMER · ENGLAND
A few people still find them sweet; most reviews describe the flavour as subtle. Mild, not flavourless.
03
Outdoor day? Low Salt. Train inside? Fuel with high salt.
Both gels carry the same 40g of carbohydrate (1:1 glucose to fructose), the same taste and the same texture. Only the salt changes.
For outdoor days, reach for Low Salt. Indoor pain cave sessions, High Salt. Mix them to land anywhere in between:
| PER HOUR | 80g carbs (2 gels) | 120g carbs (3 gels) |
|---|---|---|
| All Low Salt | ~200mg sodium | ~290mg sodium |
| Mixed | ~480mg (1 + 1) | ~580–870mg (2 + 1 / 1 + 2) |
| All High Salt | ~770mg sodium | ~1,160mg sodium |
Each High Salt gel also carries 288mg potassium and 30mg magnesium. Heavy, salty sweaters on the hottest days may still need more than gels alone provide; that's what truefuels Electrolytes (400mg sodium per serving) are for.
"A great no nonsense gel that makes staking and controlling salt content super easy when you don't have the mental capacity during training or racing to calculate how much salt you need to take."
VERIFIED CUSTOMER · LONDON
04
40g in a sachet thin enough to take without water — or to mix into a bottle
Forty grams a sachet means fewer sachets an hour: three gets you to 120g. The texture is thinner than most, so it goes down without a chaser. Plenty of cyclists empty one into a bottle and keep the second bottle as plain water.
Six ingredients, each with a job: maltodextrin, fructose, coconut water powder, Himalayan salt, tri-magnesium citrate, potassium sorbate. Nothing added for colour or flavour drama.
FRUCTOSE
COCONUT WATER POWDER
HIMALAYAN SALT
TRI-MAGNESIUM CITRATE
POTASSIUM SORBATE
MALTODEXTRIN
05
This is why your stomach hurts on normal gels
Stomach trouble on long efforts usually isn't bad luck. It tends to come from how the gel is built.
A · TOO MUCH OF ONE KIND OF SUGAR
Your gut absorbs glucose through one pathway, and that pathway has a limit of roughly 60g an hour. Push past it with a glucose-only gel and the extra carbohydrate sits in your gut, pulling water in with it. That's where the bloating, cramping and emergency toilet stops come from.
truefuels uses a 1:1 ratio of glucose (from maltodextrin) to fructose. Fructose is absorbed through a separate pathway, so the carbohydrate splits across two routes instead of queuing at one. That's how athletes get to 90–120g an hour without the gut backing up.
B · CAFFEINE YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR
Plenty of gels add caffeine. It speeds up your gut, and for many athletes that means urgency at the worst moment. truefuels gels contain no caffeine.
C · THICK, CONCENTRATED SYRUP
The thicker and more concentrated a gel, the more water your gut has to draw in to process it. Ours is deliberately thinner, so it goes down easily with or without water.
D · A LONG INGREDIENT LIST
No artificial sweeteners, no colours, no added flavourings. Six ingredients, each with a job you can read on the back of the sachet.
That's the reasoning. Here's what customers actually say:
"I have been able to build up use to 120g+/hr whereas with other brands I was struggling with such high carb loading."
VERIFIED · ENGLAND
"I used both the 0.25 and 1.0 gels for a recent marathon and managed 8 gels in 4 hours with no stomach issues."
VERIFIED · ENGLAND
"I've never been able to stomach gels and my marathon times have been below par compared to my 5k, 10, and half."
VERIFIED · SCOTLAND
That's their experience, not a promise. Your gut is yours, which is exactly why reason #7 exists.
06
300+ reviews, a 4.8 average, and the badge your federation looks for
INFORMED SPORT
Certified across the whole range — tested batch by batch, which matters if you race under a federation.
CASTLE RACE SERIES
Official Nutrition Partner — on course at the feed stations in the UK, Ireland and France.
ALISTAIR BROWNLEE
Co-designed by the two-time Olympic champion and tested with around 50 elite triathletes before it went on sale.
AWARD
Women's Running Awards 2025 winner.
★ 4.8
From 300+ verified reviews.
07
You get 60 days to try it in training
The one rule worth following about fuel: never change it on race day. Change it in training, where you can learn from it.
So use truefuels on your next long sessions. Work out your setting. If it isn't right for you, email us within 60 days and we'll refund you in full.
Start with both salt settings, or set up your whole training block with electrolytes for the hottest days.
Find your setting
Try it for 60 days, or your money back
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60-DAY SATISFACTION GUARANTEE
Sodium needs vary between athletes. This page shares product composition and customer experiences; it isn't medical advice. Customer quotes are from verified Judge.me reviews.