Product Review: Hornet Juice

Some time last year I became aware of a product called Vaam. It was a sports drink, but very unlike any other sports drink I knew. While most products concentrate on carbohydrates, and a few modern ones advertise their 4:1 carbs to protein ratio, Vaam consisted only of proteins. The intended effect was not to supply immediate fuel to your blood stream, but to stimulate your body’s fat-burning mechanism. I was intrigued. It sounded interesting to a budding marathon and ultra-runner like myself.

Then, several months ago, I stumbled upon a very similar product, this time called Hornet Juice. It works on exactly the same premises, a protein mix that helps your body to metabolize fat for energy from the start of exercise. If this worked, you would be able to avoid the famous Wall in marathons altogether, because your glycogen supplies are spared and you should never run out of them. The product was sold via the web from New Zealand for an affordable price, shipping was free and I decided to give it a go.

I have been using it all through my training cycle this summer. For each run of 18 miles or more I dissolved one sachet in a glass of water. The taste is very light but pleasant enough. It always left a residue at the bottom of the glass, but I don’t think that matters. The instructions are to take one packet anywhere between 0 and 45 minutes before start of exercise. Since I always run early in the morning, I would take it immediately after getting out of bed, which usually meant 15 minutes before I left the house.

How did it go? I can honestly say that of all the long runs I did during this training cycle (about 15) I cannot remember a single bad one. I generally ended my runs, even the 22 milers, with the feeling that I could have run further and/or faster. While I cannot say for sure that it was the Hornet Juice that was responsible for that, I am prepared to give it at least some of the credit. I generally felt pretty good after the workouts, even though I declined to follow the recommendations on their website to take a second packet after the workout for recovery (I used slim fast or chocolate milk instead). According to the advice given, you can even mix Hornet Juice with a carbohydrate sports drink, thus getting the benefits of both, though you should avoid mixing it with a protein drink, as that would reduce its effectiveness.

I’m not in any way affiliated with the product, apart from being a satisfied customer. I can recommend Hornet Juice to anyone wishing to run a marathon or further. If you want to try it out, you can order a test sample of 4 servings for 9 dollars (remember: free shipping). Just don’t humiliate me in my own race!