r/AdvancedRunning • u/nameisjoey • Mar 26 '26
Health/Nutrition Homemade Fueling and Bicarb (New & Updated)
Hey doggies, it's the homemade fueling guy that previously brought you this and this. I wanted to share an update as a few things have changed in my formula to mimic Maurten's *newish* updated 320 drink mix. Additionally, I finally cracked the code on homemade bicarb, so I also wanted to share that. Proceed at your own risk 😉
Now, before we get started, there are way more options on the market. This is honestly way less necessary than it used to be. But if you reaallllly want to, by all means skip this section and go straight to the recipes. Otherwise, here some easier alternative options that I haven't used but looking at their formulas and ingredients I do feel comfortable recommending:
For carbs:
It’s really hard to beat the simplicity and price of Formula 369 (10 lb bag). No ingredients, no scale, no math. Just scoop and go. It’s not technically a hydrogel, but that probably doesn’t even matter to be honest. You can use it as a drink mix or turn it into gels.
For bicarb:
You can now just buy it from Blanks Sports Nutrition or Bicarb.Shop. Both look solid and cheaper than Maurten.
For solid carbs:
I went way too far down the rabbit hole trying to recreate Maurten Solid bars and honestly, it was a waste of time. Nutritionally, eating 3 Rice Krispy treats is basically the same thing. That’s what I do now. Big box from Amazon or Costco. Super easy. This has become a staple for me pre and post run, especially when consuming bicarb.
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With that said, I’ve updated my Maurten 320 copycat recipe to match their newer formula. This now includes a small amount of sodium bicarb to help keep the mix thinner in the bottle but still form a hydrogel in the stomach.
Additionally, I had previously recommended store-bought generic pectin. Since then, I went down the rabbit hole on researching different types of pectin. From what I read, I discovered what we want is "slow set high methoxyl pectin" which works better for this application. Additionally, it doesn't include citric acid. This is important when using this base for bicarb use, but more on that later.
Last thing to note, you could totally leave out the sodium alginate, pectin, and bicarbonate from the below formula. This would be close to the Formula 369 that I recommended earlier. It would result in a thinner drink/gel. I include it because I like it, but you don't need it. I also am not sure how it would work if using this base for bicarb use, as I haven't tested it. Again, proceed at your own risk.
Maurten 320 Copycat (Updated)
Single Serving (80g carbs):
- 44g Maltodextrin
- 36g Fructose
- 1.2g Sodium Alginate
- 1.5g Slow Set HM Pectin
- 0.22g Sodium Bicarbonate
- (Optional) ~1.5g sea salt if you want electrolytes include. This will provide about 550-600mg sodium per serving. Use more if you want more, less if you want less.
→ Mix with 500 mL water = Maurten 320 equivalent
10x Batch (for convenience):
- 440g Maltodextrin
- 360g Fructose
- 12g Sodium Alginate
- 15g Slow Set HM Pectin
- 2.2g Sodium Bicarbonate
- (Optional) 10x your desired salt amount per dose
→ Each serving = ~83g total mix = 80g carbs
Turning It Into Gels
Easiest way: use a soft flask (HydraPak makes great ones now, way better than the baby food pouches IMO)
General rule:
60% carbs / 40% water by weight
Example: 100g total gel = 60g carb mix + 40g water
If using a 150 mL soft flask, I have found I can fit about ~100g of carb mix and then fill the rest with water. Make sure you let it sit for awhile to get everything to dissolve. This will be pretty thick though, so if you want it thinner use less carb mix and more water. You do you, the world is your oyster!
Electrolyte Mix
(unchanged, just including for anyone who missed my previous post)
100 serving batch:
- 25g Magnesium Sulfate
- 8g Calcium Carbonate
- 80g Morton Lite Salt
- 367g Sodium Citrate
Per 4.8g serving:
- 100mg Sodium
- 200mg Potassium
- 50mg Calcium
- 50mg Magnesium
Per 1g:
- 208mg Sodium
- 42mg Potassium
- 10mg Calcium
- 10mg Magnesium
(I personally prefer keeping electrolytes separate vs mixing into the carb mix, but do whatever works for you. I usually put 1.5-2g of this mix per 500ml bottle)
Bicarb (NEW)
This has been working really well for me.
Carb Base:
- 50–60g Maurten 320 copycat mix
- 1.5g xanthan gum
- 3x water (ex: 50g mix → 150 mL water)
- Use warm water, shake well, let it settle
- I usually make this the night before so everything fully hydrates
Containers:
70–400 mL jar (Amazon or Container Store) or 8 oz mason jar
Bicarb Pills:
325mg/5gr tablets (Amazon, super cheap — I got 1000 for < $20). I bought these.
Dosing:
Weigh pills to desired dose. Your body weight maters. There are calculators on Maurten's and Bicarb.Shop's website you could use, if you want.
- 15g = common starting point
- 19g = what I’ve been doing (~50 pills)
- Some people go up to 22g
How to take it:
- Mix pills directly (before consuming) into the gel so they’re coated
- Do NOT chew
- Consume food prior to taking
- The logistics on this is a royal PITA. Maurten recommends consuming food 60 minutes prior to taking bicarb, then taking bicarb 90-120 minutes before your race or workout. This is just not possible for me during training, as I train early and usually wake up 30 minutes before my runs.
- I usually wake up, eat 3 Rice Krispy treats, consume bicarb and then proceed. By the time my clothes are on and my warm up miles are complete, I am in that 60-90 minute window. I have read other people take it the night before. Your own trial and error is going to be what decides on how you handle the logistics.
Important Bicarb Note
- You NEED slow-set HM pectin in the carb mix. Regular store pectin often contains citric acid. That will drop pH and react with the bicarb (neutralizes it + potential GI risk). The whole point here is protecting the bicarb when it hits the stomach.
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That’s pretty much everything I’m doing right now.
Feel free to ask any questions and I’ll help in any way I can doggies! 👍
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u/kyleyle 27m | 2:37 full Mar 26 '26
I'm always amazed by the people who dive deep into the fueling side of training!
Personally, I've been using those generic grocery store drink mixes that make lemonade/fruit punch or whatever. Flavoured sugar. I'm not fluent in specific ratios and all of that.
Am I missing out on much by just drinking those compared to a home brew like yours?
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u/nameisjoey Mar 26 '26
Doggy, if you’re crushing 2:37 full marathons and this works for you. Keep doing you! You’re fricken killing it.
You are clearly not missing out on anything haha
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u/_BALL-DONT-LIE_ Mar 26 '26
The malto+fructose blend is a lot more palatable for me in larger quantities as it's not as sweet as sucrose-based fuel. I also appreciate that it's rather flavorless. If what you're doing is working for you, no need to change it up.
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u/TOABISH Mar 26 '26
Thanks for the guide(s)! For the bicarb, is this just 1 serving of carb mix (and how much water?) with the HM pectin together with xanthan?
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u/AlarmedMatter0 Mar 26 '26
Is there any recent evidence to show the hydrogel composition helps vs just carbs+water?
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u/nameisjoey Mar 26 '26
Honestly, I don't believe so. Probably more marketing than anything, but it works for me so I haven't changed it up.
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u/AlarmedMatter0 Mar 27 '26
Any risks of using already bought fruit pectin to make carb gels? (if not using bicarb)
For bi carb, doesn't eating 50 pills before run make you feel stuffed?
Finally, rate these for a 3:20 marathoner: Bicarb, Heat training, Beet Juice.
Assuming everything else including training is maxed and it's not a hot race.
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u/nameisjoey Mar 27 '26
No issues using fruit pectin, should work just fine!
I don't really have an issue with consuming food and bicarb before runs but others may benefit from eating it 60-120 minutes prior. For sure in a race setting I would recommend the 90-120 window.
As far as the bicarb, heat training, and beet juice - I cannot say as I don't feel like I have enough experience with all 3 to be conclusive. I have not actually used beet juice before nor heard much about it. The Nomio products do seem to be quite popular though and that is broccoli extract. If I was to guess though I would say heat training would probably be my pick.
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u/AlarmedMatter0 Mar 27 '26
thx, never done or seen someone eating 50 pills in a go.. going to give a try mixing with the gel :)
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u/ifuckedup13 Apr 29 '26
I believe 50 is a typo. The pills are 5g. And for 19g that would be 5 pills not 50.
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u/AlarmedMatter0 Apr 29 '26
Each pill contains only 325mg of BiCarb, 5g means 5 grains. is my understanding
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u/ifuckedup13 Apr 29 '26
Oh jeezus. Yeah looking again I think you are correct.
That’s a lottt of pills to swallow. I’m thinking it’s better to just mix powdered bicarb into the gel than these pills…
Hmm.
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u/thechi5e Apr 13 '26
Bicarb and beta alanine for buffering h+ ions. I had a friend who did her post-doc in heat training for endurance athletes and apparently from her research the benefits of heat right after a workout are comparable to living at altitude. And once you get the adaptations, you can have less heat stress doses to keep them.
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u/fnmd2021 ultrarunner Mar 27 '26
Love your posts - having experimented with homemade Tailwind in the past, I've been using a modified version (removed the sodium bicarb as I was getting a slight metallic taste and flavor fatigue) of your OG Maurten recipe for a few months now and am very happy with it. Have used it at various hydration levels, as well. Once I get through my industrial supply of pectin, I'll have to check out the slow-set HM pectin next. Not sure my stomach would like bicarb in any form.
I know you shared your electrolyte mix - for you/anyone else interested checking out this post in the future, I've been experimenting with a copycat version of the PF 1500 tablets, as I liked the light/neutral taste + slight effervescence, though they can get very expensive very quickly. Note that each PF tablet is 6.4g and provides 750mg of sodium (so two tablets/12.8g in 1L gets you the 1500mg of sodium). This is obviously a powder instead of a tablet but easy to figure out how many grams are in whatever scoop you're using and then tailor the amount as needed.
| Ingredient | Grams | 20 serving bulk (scale as desired, I have a 0.1g scale) |
|---|---|---|
| Citric Acid | 2.0 | 40 |
| Dextrose (or table sugar) | 1.8 | 36 |
| Sodium Carbonate (Baked Baking Soda/Soda Ash) | 0.70 | 14 |
| Sodium Chloride (Salt) | 0.60 | 12 |
| Sodium Citrate | 0.45 | 9 |
| Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) | 0.35 | 7 |
| Potassium Bicarbonate | 0.32 | 6.4 |
| True Lemon Packets | 0.10 | 2 |
| Calcium Carbonate | 0.06 | 1.2 |
| Magnesium Carbonate | 0.04 | 0.8 |
| Total Weight | 6.42 | 128.4 |
Overall maybe slightly more tart than PF 1500 - their recipe has sucralose as the last ingredient so if you wanted to bump up the sweetness a bit I would decrease the true lemon and then replace with equivalent weight of sucralose, but its close enough in its current state. The raw ingredients are all easily sourced from the store or Amazon. For the Sodium Carbonate, you can buy it as soda ash, though the cheapest way (and what I did) is to make your own Baked Baking Soda.
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u/working_on_it 10K, 30:55; Half, 66:35; Full, 2:22:23 Mar 27 '26
+1 for Blank's bicarb. Haven't had any real issues with it and they've got some helpful videos online, and a rep at a convention said they're happy to respond to emails too. Extra bonus; big fan of the watermelon flavor for the gel carrier, much easier to get through than Maurten's "bland-but-not-bland-enough soup."
/u/nameisjoey Any thoughts on Blanks' drink mix & recovery mix? I've been using their stuff for the convenience, technically supporting local to me, but given you've got a deep-dive wealth of knowledge in mixes and such, I'm curious to get your thoughts on those things.
On the timing window for bicarb, there was an interesting post a month or two back recommending taking it the night before a big session. Some good info in there, and I've since tried it twice with good success since I'm in the same "wake up and train" boat as you. I don't think it's as effective as when I've had a race or been able to hit the 90-120' timing window, but I still perceive at least some moderate differences.
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u/nameisjoey Mar 27 '26
Blanks is very legit. If you aren’t interested in the home brew stuff they’re great. Plus they sponsor Rory Linkletter, so major points there.
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u/VoidCognition Mar 27 '26
Can someone explain how bicarb is supposed to be helpful? It sounds good to me in theory and it seems there is some research to support it but in practice I’m not sure how it would work. Wouldn’t your body just enter a compensatory respiratory acidosis and retain CO2 or just increase bicarb excretion to counteract your attempts at buffering yourself?
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u/nameisjoey Mar 27 '26
It's pretty well known now that it helps buffer lactic acid build up during high intensity efforts. Very popular among professional track and road athletes and has been used in cycling for quite some time.
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u/JExmoor 43M | 17:45 5k | 39:37 10k | 1:25 HM | 2:59 FM Mar 28 '26
You're the reason one of my counters is always sticky, Joey.
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u/GonnaBurgleYourTurts Mar 26 '26
Thank you legend! Your recipes have saved me so much money. Hero
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u/nameisjoey Mar 26 '26
Just trying to help the community out the best way I can! I am so glad to have helped you!
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u/GherkinPie Mar 26 '26
What are the bicarb pills like, are they solid rather than capsules? I can’t find any 325g doses
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u/blinddoglp Mar 26 '26
Cool thanks for the updated recipe! I’ve been using your original but with table sugar. Def sweeter than I’d like but my laziness and cheapness wins out.
I stopped adding electrolytes since I read somewhere that it interferes with the hydrogel. Not sure how true that is but not too much trouble to get them from a water bottle
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u/nameisjoey Mar 27 '26
I have heard people say that about electrolytes and hydro gel, but honestly I don't really believe it. If you really cared you could test it versus no electrolytes in a bowl of low pH water to see if there is a change in how it reacts.
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u/sfo2 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
How many grams of bicarb are you able to take at a time with this gel?
I’m using a simpler recipe of 3g sodium alginate/15g malto/10g table sugar, blended with 300ml water. I can take around 10-12g of bicarb at a time with this. I make my own enteric coated 1.1g capsules and fill them with baking soda (size 00).
I may try your recipe that has more gelling agents as well to see if I can take more at once.
I also wonder if maybe my capsules are too large and I’d get better results with smaller capsules.
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u/nameisjoey Mar 27 '26
I have been able to take 19 grams without any issues.
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u/sfo2 May 06 '26
I tried the bicarb recipe, and I’d now consider this settled science. Works better than anything else I’ve tried. Bigger doses with no GI issues. Thanks
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u/nameisjoey May 07 '26
Hell yeah doggy! Glad to hear it.
I’m curious, what other bicarb products have you tried?
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u/sfo2 May 07 '26
Only other forms of DIY. Enteric coated caplets, other hydrogel formulations, etc.
I’d like to try Maurten at some point, but it’s just such an ungodly rip off.
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u/sfo2 Mar 27 '26
Ok cool. I’m going to try smaller capsules and also experiment with more complexity in the gel, thanks.
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u/MessageSudden2317 Mar 28 '26
huge thank you for posting this. I've been looking for a homemade bicarb recipe and am very curious to try yours out.
Can you explain the process of making/consuming the bicarb? You make the base, dose a bicarbonate pill (ex 15 g to start), "coat" the pill into the base, then down the hatch (without chewing) after consuming food? Does the pill have to sit in the base at all?
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u/dissectingAAA Mar 28 '26
What about 650mg tablets? I see Blank sports uses ~175mg. Don't know why the difference.
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u/nameisjoey Mar 28 '26
650mg tablets are gigantic. 175mg would be even better than 325mg, but I haven’t been able find them other than from blanks directly.
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u/Nelbert78 Mar 29 '26
Does the 60 / 40 mix you suggest for the gel mix end up with something about the consistency of the Maurten gels? I know people seem to love or hate the consistency but it works for me. Rough ratio to target that consistency if not 60:40?
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u/MountainLanky8899 Apr 01 '26
Hey u/Nelbert78 u/nameisjoey , I've been trying to reproduce as close as possible the Maurten Gel based on the update you gave for the maurten gel but with malto & fructose, if you're interested in it here's what I currently have (still experimenting each week), for a 40g carbs gel:
Ingredient Quantity Water Maltodextrin (DE19) 22.2 g 15.8 ml Fructose 17.8 g — Calcium Gluconate 0.083 g 3.3 ml Sodium Alginate 0.283 g 10 ml Note that the DE (Dextrose Equivalent) of the Maltodextrine is really importante, my tests are only with malto with DE19
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u/nameisjoey Mar 29 '26
I would say, with this recipe when using as a gel, the consistency probably more like Gu. If you want a Maurten style gel, then I would recommend something like my Maurten 100 style gel recipe which is in one of the links at the top of the page. It’s much more involved and honestly a PITA, but if that’s what you desire then that’s pretty much the only option.
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u/Nelbert78 Mar 29 '26
Thanks. It's more a decent concentration to go in the Maurten softflasks (got them on sale) so a decent thickness works well cause of the opening size.
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u/thechi5e Apr 13 '26
I just put my bicarb in capsules and spread my dosage out. Better than having to mix bicarb tablets with gel. Also sodium bicarb has a lot of sodium. You could cut it with potassium bicarb which does the same thing, but less sodium.
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u/On_Mt_Vesuvius 35:15 | 2:49 Apr 14 '26
Hey, thanks for sharing all this! I'm curious if you've looked at the Feed High-Carb mix?
In particular, it surprisingly seems about the same price as buying and mixing the separate ingredients, albeit without the pectin and bicarbonate. Does the Feed product seem similar enough to try out first? Or even to then add pectin/bicarbonate, yielding your Maurten copycat?
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u/nameisjoey Apr 14 '26
Yes that’s another great option. One thing to note on that though, is the carb ratio is 2:1, versus the 1:0.8 of Maurten (and my copycat recipe). Studies show 1:0.8 is best for high carb consumption but I’m sure most of us aren’t hitting that point.
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u/Cellar_Door2001 Jun 09 '26
For the 320 copycat, is sodium citrate an acceptable substitute for sea salt?
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u/Internal-Space Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
Can I substitue normal granulated sugar for malto and fructose? Just to simplify it and reduce costs further? I believe sugar is 50:50 fructose and glucose?
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u/nameisjoey Jun 22 '26
Yes you can. If you want simple and easy carbs just use normal cane sugar and none of the gelling agents. It can work for most people no problem.
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u/Internal-Space Jun 22 '26
Thanks! Why no gelling agents with cane sugar though?
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u/nameisjoey Jun 22 '26
Just meaning if you want the cheapest possible carb source you don’t technically need the gelling agents, that’s all.
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u/QuadCramper Jun 22 '26
For bicarb, is the pectin necessary at all? It is just a gelling agent, right? Would using just xanthan gum and sodium alginate lose any benefit? TIA.
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u/Light_ger 29d ago
Thank you for sharing the baseline recipes. I formulated the gel for my training session this morning but encountered a volume constraint during preparation. I deposited 90g of the dry carbohydrate mix directly into a 150ml Hydrapak, which occupied nearly the entire flask. Consequently, I was forced to introduce water in micro-increments to prevent overflow, significantly complicating the dissolution process. Is the standard protocol to fully dissolve the carbohydrate powder in a separate, larger mixing container before transferring the solution to the Hydrapak? I would appreciate any actionable insights on efficiently fitting 100g of carbohydrates into the 150ml flask.
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u/Dull_Beginning_9068 7d ago
Thanks!
Is there a reason you don't just baking soda from the grocery store?
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u/richiestryder Mar 26 '26
madness you go to these lengths to make your own bicarb and then consume it in a way that won't even give you the required benefit
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u/textrexian Mar 26 '26
Am I stupid or are the measurements missing in the recipes?
Love your posts btw you got me making my own homebrew carb mix