It is always a challenge to manage hydration and electrolytes on longer runs and races all while trying to be quick and efficient  about it all.  Although some energy bars work great for me, they can often be too dry to choke down quickly on the run and force us to drink more to compensate.  I have also been feeling a little guilty (I was raised catholic) for not eating whole foods on the run and have wanted to go that way for a while.
    I too have been having a hard time getting those CLIF bars down and the S-caps during a race and so I made a sweet potato/beet gel that has been working pretty good for me.  
    First off , buy a box of those little snack size ziplock bags, roughly 17x8cm.  The gels go in these and the air can be sucked out and when it is time to use them, the corner can be bitten off, (but don’t litter!)  and squeezed in the mouth. Here's the recipe, use organic for all ingredients that you can.  You may have to experiment with how much to put in each zippy.  

Makes 4 @ roughly 85-100g---350-400g total

175g boiled and mashed sweet potato
50g boiled beets
30ml maple syrup
4 S-caps capsules opened and sprinkled in
70ml apple juice
25g raisins
1 t tumeric
1 t finely ground black pepper
30g chia seeds

Blend this all up well in a food processor or fatty blender.

Then divide into  roughly equal lumps and put in those little snack bags.

I start having one 1.5 hours into a long run and have one every hour after that.  If it is a race I'll start with one 1 hour into it.

The tumeric is a natural inflammation reducer and the black pepper helps the tumeric absorb faster and more effeciently.