my track coach is giving us monster energy drinks before track races

Probably not a smart idea and is I don't know if it is illegal but I'd consider it a performance enhancer. Also, they damage your heart. Probably shouldn't be drinking those ever, get your coach fired

is he a good coach wrote:

hes been doing this all indoor season, and I don't have a problem with it. but I know it has a lot of caffeine and caffeine could potentially dehydrate some of the distance runners in their longer races, especially when outdoor season comes and it is hot outside (my highschool is in chandler Arizona, a phoenix suberb)

he serves it to us cold, which is good, and he says it will not only give us energy before the race, but also help us focus during the race; which is actually true because caffeine does indeed help your attention span and ability to focus.

No; he's not a good coach. This is stupid. Quit drinking that crap.

That's crazy because those drinks already have your heart racing.. Now with actual racing that's so bad. At least try coffee an hour or 2 before but a Monster is ridiculously insane. Horrible coach..

majorkey wrote:

That's crazy because those drinks already have your heart racing.. Now with actual racing that's so bad. At least try coffee an hour or 2 before but a Monster is ridiculously insane. Horrible coach..

Huh? Have a coffee "at least"??? But Monster is insane??? Like they are at opposite ends of a spectrum? Why "at least" have a coffee? For the caffeine? That's why he's giving them some energy drink! For the caffeine.

That's fvcked up. Monster drinks are awesome though.

Serious? A coach in our area got fired for that exact offense. Giving energy drinks before the game. It wasn't running, but another team sport. He's treading on thin water...

Umm, I think you meant to say "thin rice"??

jordan ah say she can run wrote:

Umm, I think you meant to say "thin rice"??

It's been unusually warm here

What do folks think about 5 hour energy? Personally, I'm not a coffee drinker and some fast friends in the Portland area turned me on to them. I definitely feel more alert or as if I have more energy taking one an hour before a workout.

Once knew a guy who drowned in rice. Don't recall the thickness of it but your coach should really be careful. Tough way to go.

I thought all you Mormans in Chandler couldn't have caffeine?

How do Mormons run in that magic underwear? It's gotta get hot!

I don't know what the rules are where you live but in New York State your entire team would be penalized. At the beginning of the season you have to submit a code of conduct and energy drinks are banned by NYSPHAA. That's a tricky path your coach is going down. Hopefully you are not a troll, but if you are then props, it's a good one.

Great coach! wonderful guy! Smart.

I drank a monster (CALORIE FREE OF COURSE) 30 minutes before my 800 2 years ago and ran a 4 second PR (at the time) of 1:55.65.

BOOM. MONSTER FTW.

Hicham343 wrote:

I don't know what the rules are where you live but in New York State your entire team would be penalized. At the beginning of the season you have to submit a code of conduct and energy drinks are banned by NYSPHAA. That's a tricky path your coach is going down. Hopefully you are not a troll, but if you are then props, it's a good one.

Yeah, I remember it was also banned on the track/field as well, you couldn't even drink an energy drink after your event was over.,,,, Rules are there for a reason!!!

kmaclam wrote:

Huh? Have a coffee "at least"??? But Monster is insane??? Like they are at opposite ends of a spectrum? Why "at least" have a coffee? For the caffeine? That's why he's giving them some energy drink! For the caffeine.

Coffee is one thing and hard to even come close to the performance enhancing limits set for caffeine consuming coffee. However, with Monster or any Monster like drink that's questionable. I can deal with an athlete drinking coffee of their own choice or tea or a cola product, but I would highly advise against any of the Monster type drinks. Two problems here for me, forced coercion and drinks that probably take athletes over acceptable limits from a PED standpoint, and a moral and ethical standpoint about athlete health.

Your coach is an idiot...Not to mention the liability he incurs should someone get sick.

xcrunner6 wrote:

Great coach! wonderful guy! Smart.

I drank a monster (CALORIE FREE OF COURSE) 30 minutes before my 800 2 years ago and ran a 4 second PR (at the time) of 1:55.65.

BOOM. MONSTER FTW.

I tried this in college with the sugar-free Monster and crapped my running shorts during the race. It was a 3k indoors and they had to clean the track. I am sure someone on this forum was at the race (maybe in the race?) and can vouch. It was so embarrassing. I lost the win, too. I had to slow down to try to keep it in and got passed and still crapped all over the place.

is he a good coach wrote:

hes been doing this all indoor season, and I don't have a problem with it. but I know it has a lot of caffeine and caffeine could potentially dehydrate some of the distance runners in their longer races, especially when outdoor season comes and it is hot outside (my highschool is in chandler Arizona, a phoenix suberb)

he serves it to us cold, which is good, and he says it will not only give us energy before the race, but also help us focus during the race; which is actually true because caffeine does indeed help your attention span and ability to focus.

Not even going to read the other post

Stop drinking them NOW

Someone could potentially get very damaged from this, this is just a lawsuit waiting to happen

Caffeine is a proven ergogenic aid and is typically allowed for use by athletes under a particular threshold. That threshold is fairly high, something like 600 or 700 mg consumption depending on body size and individual variance in tolerance. Should you coach be handing them out to athletes? Probably not, no. Are you allowed to drink your own Energy Drink of choice before you race? 100%, go for it.

Trying to claim that Monster and coffee have different effects on runners is asinine.