Run Gum is a caffeinated energy gum company that was founded by Olympian, Nick Symmonds and his coach, Sam Lapray. The gum was originally created for consumption by Nick during training sessions. The goal was to provide his body with caffeine, without the bloating and slow absorption found in liquid delivery methods. After a few weeks of testing Run Gum, I can vouch for it’s effectiveness. I have used Run Gum for hiking, trail running, and gym workouts, and will detail my experience in this review.
Buy Run Gum on Amazon
Run Gum comes in waterproof foil packets that contain two tablets per packet. At the moment, there are three Run Gum flavors: mint, cinnamon, and fruit. All of the flavors taste pretty close to what you’d expect, so order based on your general preference.
When you first start chewing on the tablets, you’ll notice they have a chalky texture. That chalky texture quickly goes away after a few chews, but is more noticeable with a dry mouth. Make sure to have a little water ready to go when using these while hiking and running. The gum itself has a solid texture that doesn’t break down.
The caffeine in the gum is designed for quick dispersion and instant absorption. This is great for a delivery method, but not so great for flavor maintenance. After about five minutes of chewing, I can feel the boost of energy, but also notice that the gum looses all of it’s flavor.
Having grown used to caffeinated energy gels, chews, drinks, and powders, I’ve become a huge fan of caffeinated gum. It boils down to these three main points:
- Gels and liquids can cause stomach issues for me while running, and occasionally while hiking. Run Gum doesn’t effect my stomach or cause any GI distress.
- Run Gum is very lightweight and easy to store.
- Run Gum absorbs quickly for an instant burst of energy. With drinks and gels there can be a bit of delay.
Ingredients
One piece of Run Gum contains 50mg of caffeine, so you’re getting 100mg of caffeine per packet. This is the same amount as an 8oz cup of coffee. The energy is Run Gum is also provided by taurine and B-vitamins. Run Gum is also zero calorie and sugar-free.
All Ingredients
Isomalt, Gum base, Maltitol, Sorbitol, Xylitol, Natural and artificial flavors, Caffeine, Magnesium stearate, Proprietary blend (Taurine, Vitamin B12 as Cyanocobalamin, Vitamin B6 as Pyridoxine HCl), Silicon dioxide, Sucralose, Food starch, Carnauba wax, Titanium dioxide, Confectioner’s glaze.
Buy Run Gum on Amazon
At .1oz per pack, Run Gum is the perfect energy gum to bring along for hikes and trail runs. It packs light and small, which is perfect for most of my hydration vests. Most importantly, Run Gum does not slosh around in my stomach like caffeinated fluids do, and it hasn’t caused any GI distress. My only knock on Run Gum is the initial chalkiness when chewing and it’s quick loss of flavor. Those complaints are minor though. Run Gum sells for $1.89 per pack which is on par with comparable gels, drinks, and chews.
*Make sure to always practice Leave No Trace and dispose of your gum properly.
Disclosure: Run Gum was provided to me at no cost for this review. All product links provided in this post are affiliate links. Purchases made using these affiliate links go to support the content created here at Trail to Peak at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Hi Drew,
very interesting product and nice review.
Nowadays, it seems that our world (at least the “western” type of society) is spinning around caffeine. Although I am not a huge fan of needing caffeine -or any other substance- in order to have an extra boost, I fully see how this gum can provide this small boost of energy when running/hiking etc.
On your review you state that after five minutes of chewing, you can feel the boost of energy. Is this feeling just a small kick of energy or more? Percentage wise, would it be more than 5%, 10% (By these percentages, obviously, I am not expecting an answer based on laboratory results, but more on your feeling).
Again, thanks for the introduction to Run Gum.
Caffeine is definitely the drug of choice for many “Westerners”. I agree, being dependent on it is probably not very healthy long term. As an endurance enhancer, I really like though.
I’d say the caffeine kick from this gum is equal to a small cup of coffee.
Great review Drew, I’ll be trying this out. To my relief caffeine is largely proven to be a sports performance booster and I’ve definitely reaped the benefits of caffeinated gels and the occasional cold brewed beverage (check out the awesomeness of “High Brew”)… This looks like one more method of delivering this boost… the quick loss of flavor, and having to discard it are slight bummers for me. I can’t bring myself to throw chewed gum out on a trail… LNT and all that! Probably easy enough to shove chewed pieces back into the packaging?
The sports performance of caffeine is something I love as well. I buy the cans of cold brew from Trader Joe’s. They make for the perfect mountain top drink! Like you, I can’t spit gum on the trail. I usually chew a piece before I hit the trail and dispose of it at my car. I have a trash pouch on my backpack that I use for wrappers and gum.