I raced on gels. Now I make my own from real food.

Natural Fuel Endurance started because I got tired of foil wrappers, sticky pockets, and a stomach that couldn’t hold what I needed on race day.

Drew Addis

The short version

I’m Drew Addis, an endurance athlete who spent years racing long-course events on packaged nutrition. It worked, until it didn’t. More long sessions than I’d like to admit ended with a wrecked stomach, a jersey full of foil, and no real idea what was actually in the product I’d just eaten.

So I started making my own fuel. Maple syrup and sea salt instead of a lab-formulated gel. Dates and rice instead of a wrapped bar. I tested everything the same way I’d test any piece of gear: in training, over and over, tracking what my gut could handle and what it couldn’t.

What started as a way to solve my own problem turned into a system. A recipe library. A protocol for finding your carb ceiling and training toward it. Guides for race day, because the plan that works in a Tuesday workout doesn’t automatically survive an aid station at mile eighteen. Natural Fuel Endurance is that system, organized so other athletes don’t have to rebuild it from scratch.

What I believe about fueling

It’s not anti-product

Packaged nutrition works well for plenty of athletes. This is about having a second option built from ingredients you can pronounce, not about replacing what already works for you.

Fueling is trained, not bought

Your gut adapts the same way your legs do. A hard ceiling on race day usually traces back to never testing an intake target in training.

You should know what’s in your bottle

Every recipe lists exact carbs, sodium, and shelf life. No guessing, no proprietary blends, nothing hidden behind a label.

Where this comes from

I’m not a dietitian, and nothing on this site is medical or nutrition advice. What I bring is years on the course and in the kitchen: testing recipes the same way I’d test a training block, keeping what held up, and throwing out what didn’t. If you have a medical condition or a history of GI issues, talk to a sports dietitian before changing your fueling.

Everything in the recipe library and the Natural Endurance Fueling Protocol has been carried through actual training and actual races, not just a spreadsheet.