And I think it's hard to out trick the human body. So I say eat a variety of foods and also enjoy what you're eating, right? Your diet shouldn't be an agony of wills and restrictions, somehow making more virtuous. And so enjoy what you're eating. Welcome to the trailhead of Trail Runner Nation. We go on virtual trail runs every single week. It's like we're doing these runs all the time. We got to be diligent, Freeman. We do it every week with guests that are going to help teach us how to be better runners, healthier runners, stronger runners, and maybe that turns into us being better human beings. Today we're gonna talk about one of the founders of sports nutrition in here, her story about how it all rolled out from a small kitchen in Berkeley. Scott, we have an exciting announcement. I mean, you were the one that started the red, white, and blue trucker hat with ATTR in. And then this one came along. One is greater than none. One is greater than zero. You founded that as well, and now you put it on a hat. Let's say that you don't have enough time for your six mile scheduled run. You only have 30 minutes. Get out there and run to the end of the block and back. Do something. Something is going to have a greater effect than nothing. And that's what that means when that symbol is on the front of that hat Scott. We've graduated from the trucker hat to a high performance running cap. Get yours today, trailrunnernation.com. If you haven't tried John G. Yet, you're missing out on more than just great running gear. John G isn't just another apparel brand. They design high performance gear inspired by global running communities. Every season they partner with artists from around the world to create limited edition collections that tell a story. Scott is just not about the looks. John G. Gear is built for movement, lightweight, readable, fast drying, and design with thoughtful details that runners actually care about. And here's the cool part. John G. Gives Back, a portion of every purchase supports clean water initiatives in the regions that inspired the season's designs. Super cool, right? So you're not only getting gear that performs, you're part of something bigger. Head to johng.com and check out their latest collections. That's johng.com and a bonus for listening to TRN, you can get 10% off your order by using the code TrailRunner. I lost my favorite to Fosy sunglasses recently. These were my daily go-to pair. My favorite pair, but all I had to simply do is jump online and grab a replacement pair. And they were only about $35. That is an amazing price for such great sunglasses. And they even offer prescription lenses now, and the process is incredibly smooth. That's why Don and I love to focy. Their top notch quality, affordable prices, and they look great. Today on our run, my custom to focy glasses flew off my head and hit the pavement. I thought they were gone for sure, but not a scratch. These things are tough as nails. Plus so many styles to choose from and they even have the photo tech lenses. Those are the ones that automatically adjust to the light conditions. Check them out at tofosyoptics.com. You can score 20% off with the code TRN20 at tofosioptix.com. Welcome to another edition of Trail Reneation. My name is Don Freeman. And I'm Scott War and today we're thrilled to welcome a true pioneer in the world of sports nutrition, Jennifer Maxwell. Now you may not know her name, but I guarantee you if if you've been around for the last 30 years or so, you've probably eaten one of the products that she helped create back in 1985. Jennifer and her late husband, Brian founded Power Bar. And now you know exactly who Jennifer is because I know you've seen Power Bar in the stores or your favorite shoe store. Power Bar was the first energy bar and entirely new category of sports nutrition. And we're going to talk about that with her. But here's the neat thing is Jennifer sold that company years ago and she's back with a new mission and a new bar. It's called Jam Bar and it's made from real organic ingredients and built on the foundation of giving back. Jam Bar donates this Freeman. Get this 50% of its after-tax profits to organizations that support sports and music. So really part of the community. Now Jennifer's more than an entrepreneur. She's a lifelong competitive runner. You see Berkeley trained nutritionist and food scientist, a mother of six, accomplished drummer. I guess we're gonna have to ask about this. She plays in two California Bay Area bands. And her newest creation jam bar has been recognized by Runner's World Bicycling Ultra-Running magazine as one of the top nutrition choices for athletes. We're going to talk to Jennifer about her journey from Power Bar to Jambar and what she's learned. She's also, I failed to mention, it's a running podcast, she's also a runner and she's an endurance runner. We're going to talk about her running adventures and how that has shaped her life and her career as a nutritionist. So Jennifer, thank you for joining us. Thank you, Scott. It's good to be with you. Don, go to me too as well. Well, thank you very much. And you know what jumps out to me, Scott, right off the bat. Maybe this was your first question. And I'm gonna jump right in front of you. You mentioned music. In fact, there is a music symbol on this package.

Jam bar.

The jam is for jam and as you musician, is that true? That's correct. Our slogan is get your jam on. So, right? So this is unique. I'm curious back in the 80s, you're sitting around, you're running, you're a competitive runner, and you're learning about nutrition from UC Berkeley. Why did you decide to start the very first sports nutrition bar? How did that all come about? Well, Power Bar was really a journey with me and Brian. It was really meant to create a product for him specifically. Brian was an Olympic marathon runner. Of course, I was a competitive runner. And there was nothing on the market that provided endurance athletes, athletes ahead, nutritional and digestive issues, what to eat before and during athletic events. So it was really out of our personal need that we created, power of our,. And of course that grew to be a sizable company. What did you use before that? What what do runners use before power bar? Nothing. Right? A lot of runners avoided eating. Oh really? You know, my he toasts cereal, steak and eggs. No, Brian had a, you know, he was a pretty high level runner and he had several experiences where he would run out of steam at the end of a marathon. So really it was during the trade for him specifically. And then just in general, you know, provide athletes with a better choice as to something they can consume during and before races and training. You know, Scott, I'm going to ask you, when's the first time that you ever experienced a power bar? Well, I have to admit, of all of the sports nutrition products that I've had over the years, I have a fondness to the power bar because the original power bar was unique among, it wasn't a granola bar. You would peel this foil packet. In fact, you could probably use it as a signaling device after you opened it because the inside was a reflective foil. And the inside, and I can tell you even now, I know my favorite flavor from back then, it was wild berry. And it was kind of looked like a bar of taffy. And to your point, Don, when was the first time I used to do a little bit of skiing back in the day. And I would take them skiing as a little bit of a break, a little bit of a snack during the long days of skiing. But I found very quickly that you need to have it in an inside pocket. Because if it was an outside pocket,

you could probably break all your teeth on those power bars. But that's the first time I had one. Do you remember when you first had one done? Well, yeah, I mean, it just became like a staple. It was just like, when's the first time you've had a Coke or a payday bar? It was just always ever present. It was there in the counter and I'd pick it up And I just accepted it.

So I really can't remember the first time

that it's been I think a staple for all of us,

Jennifer, when was the first time that you made it? Picked it up and said, this is different and this is what this is good. Tell us about your first time. You know, we spent three years on that formulation. Right. So we launched the product officially in January of 87. So I was still in school studying nutrition and food science.

And doing... So we launched the product officially in January of 87. So I was still in school studying nutrition and food science and doing tinkering in the kitchen a lot of different formulations from about 85, 84, 85, 287. And I think at the beginning of 87, we're like, okay, we got a formula, you know, we just figured out how we're gonna make this thing. Let's go to co-packer, start a business from nothing, operating out of our little apartment in Berkeley. How did you know after all those iterations that you had a good product? Were you sending Brian out on runs every time you came up with a new formulation to see if he bonked or not? Both of us, right? And then our friends were guinea pigs.

You know, we used a 7-Eleven cycling team. Because you remember the whole idea it was so novel at the time. How this product that didn't crumble, it didn't melt, it was low in fat and innovated at the time. So how do you go from saying, yeah, we've got something then to start a business. I mean, it really wasn't something that was proven.

You didn't say like a good does this.

We'll do it.

We'll kind of follow their path.

You were all. Saying, yeah, we've got something then to start a business. I mean, it really wasn't something that was proven. You didn't say like a goo does this.

We'll do it.

We'll kind of follow their path. You were all, it was all brand new. Yeah, not only innovating the product, but innovating the whole sports nutrition business. Exactly. We created a market. Goo followed us actually. Yeah, right. Yeah. Right. Nothing like it on the market.

We were athletes, we had friends at our athletes,

so we were filling in need and creating a market

with the market. We were athletes, we had friends at our athletes.

So we were filling a need and creating a market

with the product, right?

So it's not just the product,

but it was the process of how to make it.

...