Fuel For The People

Fuel: a source of sustenance or incentive.  That's what the dictionary says! When I think of fuel for racing I think of sustenance more than incentive, because finishing or winning the race is the incentive, but without fuel, the body cannot sustain itself over long periods of extreme athletic activity.

As an endurance athlete I am obviously very aware of my body's need for the best possible replenishment during races. Over the years I have tried so many variations of what what's trending at the time. In the eighties we dumped pure fructose in our water bottles during cycling tours to help get through each stage.  The science of the day huh!

Thankfully sports science has come along way since then and today there are a plethora of products out there for the endurance athlete. My personal choice over the past 10 years or so has been GU Energy products. I have found that they not only help me through the critical 'fueling 'phase of a given race, but more importantly, their products taste good and digest easily. So I was naturally delighted that they stepped up as one of our sponsors for the Trans Rockies Race.

I love their newer ROCTANE ultra endurance line of gels, and have used these in two major marathons in the past year, so I can vouch for their effectiveness. The amino acid contents seem so help hinder the build-up of lactic acid and help prevent cramps.

I tend to use the regular GU for my regular training runs and then switch to ROCTANE for races or long / extreme training sessions. For the TransRockies in August my fuel of choice will be ROCTANE and then the GU Electrolyte brew will be consumed after each stage.  Go GU!