SPRING ENERGY

REVIEW BY GILES PENFOLD

RUNNING NUTRITION. HATE IT OR LOVE IT – IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER.

The fact is it’s inescapable, and to make things even better (or worse), there’s an overabundance of choice out there. Some products will wreak havoc on your body, while others will get you a PB. Choose wisely!

Enter Spring Energy, a sports nutrition company that brings genuine, real food to the table. Unlike other industry players producing highly processed bars and sludges, Spring Energy aims to ‘bring back the joy of training and racing without GI problems, sugar highs, dips and negative effects of low quality ingredients and chemicals’.

As a quick preface, due to nasty stomach issues in the past, I avoid running gels like the plague. I’m sceptical and somewhat hesitant going into this little experiment.

Oh dear, here we go again. I’m mid-run, ripping open my first gel in over four years. *Slurp*. The sludge goes down the hatch. Apprehension fills my body.

feel the need to strip it off either as I warmed up or went on the inclines, I was totally happy keeping it on as the raindrops kept coming (running in the rain is my favourite!).

Water-tight pockets and zips on each side are large enough for a modern phone, debit card and keys, and there are Velcro cuffs to accommodate your personal wrist size to keep any breeze or wind at bay. On top of that, one of the other awesome features I really liked was the fact I was able to tighten the hood not only from the front on both sides, but from the back too – clever, clever. There’s also the option of rolling the hood ‘away’ into a pocket, securing it with Velcro, so it's not bouncing up and down behind you if the rain has stopped and you don’t fancy having it on.

The Red Paddle Active Jacket is lightweight enough to pack down small into a pocket compartment. Folding it down can be done by opening the left pocket, pulling the fabric out from the inside, and then pushing, or ‘squishing’, the jacket into the pocket. Once in, there is a separate zip to close it shut, the branding is labelled so you remember what it is, and there’s a bungee cord with clip to attach to anything you like. Once you get to an aid station and let’s say you don’t require the jacket anymore, it’s easy to store it like this in your drop bag without any chance of losing it.

There’s also reflective trim to ensure safety outdoors in low light conditions.

For the techy in all of us, the Active Jacket has 4-way stretch, 5k/5k waterproof, Blue Sign approved fabric which allows for full range of movement for running. I absolutely approve, I love it.

Vitals

RRP $200.37 AUD RED-EQUIPMENT.COM.AU

An energy surge ensues. Surely it’s only a matter of time before I feel queasy. Fifteen kilometres and two more gels later – nothing. My body feels surprisingly good, stronger than usual even. Turns out it’s not luck. My scepticism gradually dissipates as dozens of training runs are fuelled by Spring Energy. Long runs, tempos, and speed sessions get the tick of approval from my stomach, not to mention from a performance standpoint. The gels aren’t sickly sweet either, and have a slightly tart taste. I’m converted.

To make sure I’m still prone to stomach issues, I experiment with a stock standard maltodextrin gel and surprise, surprise…my stomach isn’t happy. Spring Energy is its antithesis. All ingredients are 100% natural and there’s a wide variety of gels and powders to choose from. I cycle through different products based on their flavour, caffeine content, and overall calories and carb content.

My personal favourites are the ‘Awesome Sauce’ (180cal and 45g of carbs) and the ‘Koffee’ (210cal and

15mg of caffeine).

Keep your eyes out for their sample packs, a great first step to find out what works for you

Vitals

RRP 2-PACK $15 AUD

MYSPRINGENERGY.COM.AU

Level vert and let distance eat your dust in the Catamount 2, featuring the all-new SkyVault propulsion plate — engineered to help enhance uphill efficiency so you can reach the summit sooner.