It may not surprise you that pickle juice is a recovery and endurance staple for marathoners. And why the hell not, you know? Pickles are delicious. But seriously, the electrolytes from the sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium in pickle brine [1] can help prevent cramps, dehydration, and soreness.
So doing shots of pickle juice during a half (or full) marathon or at the finish line sounds all right . . . but . . . pickle popsicles [2]? That's a new one, for even the purest of pickle enthusiasts (in fact, both of POPSUGAR's in-office pickle aficionados gave a resounding "ew" when presented with the idea).
While pickles are delicious and a cold and crisp dill on a hot day is quite nice, the fusion of a savory delicacy with a sweet treat's format is a tad jarring — though it would probably be pretty darn refreshing after 13.1 to 26.2 miles, now that we're thinking about it . . .
Van Holten's Pickle-Ice [4] pops ($11 for an eight-pack on Amazon Prime [5]) are like Otter Pops made of 2 ounces of frozen brine, and they're electrically colored in a neon highlighter yellow [6] with just a tinge of green. If that doesn't whet your appetite, know that they also boast a boost of added electrolytes, making them especially useful to athletes.
If you can get past the supernatural fluorescence and the fact that the format for delicious sweet desserts has been hijacked by pickles, then you'll probably enjoy these after an especially intense workout. Or you could just eat a banana.