BUILT ON TRAILS, NOT IN A BOARDROOM

I got tired of energy gels that were pricey on the outside but cheap on the inside, so I fixed them.

If you consider yourself a serious endurance athlete, this story is for you.

My stomach usually feels terrible after my Saturday Morning Long runs. I used to think it was probably a feature of long-distance running. Plus, I wake up at an ungodly hour on Saturdays, 3.30-4 AM to get ready in time for my 2-3 hour long run and then also accommodate a full working day, so I used to think maybe it's because of that. Usually after such runs, I feel super hungry but also terrible enough not to eat much. Now, any long distance runner will tell you that refueling is the daddy of any training program, and I faltered precisely at that. But, later I realized that all of this GI distress was caused by the energy gel I was using, because on other days when I didn't use a gel (typically for sub-90 minute runs), I felt perfect! So, like any wise person would do, I changed my gel. I had the same issue with the new brand, and then I changed it again and puked my guts out on a long run and had to return home to use the bathroom in the middle of a 50 Km long run.

I did everything I could other than deep-diving into the ingredients. Maybe it's not me, its the gel-composition of most brands, which are basically identical. Thanks to Shashank and The Whole Truth Foods, I started reading the back of every single food item I eat. Eventually, I realized that while I needed sugar and salts during my runs, there were a bunch of other ingredients that I couldn't understand.

So, to experiment, in one training cycle, I made my nutrition in my kitchen. Basically a home-made gel and voilà! Would you believe it? I ran the latest ultra fueled by my own gel. This is how Chronic Cardio was born.

Chronic Cardio was born out of long runs, bad guts, and a quiet frustration with the gels we were told to trust.

No hype. No secrets. Just fuel that works, the kind you'd make for yourself if you had the time. We have open-sourced our base recipe. So don't buy from us if you don't have to.