Cal International will only have sugar-free, carbonated drinks at aid stations WTF?

to whoever said that 4 gels isnt enough for a marathon, how long does it take you to run a marathon? i've never had more than 2 gels plus water at a marathon

I've typically seen Nuun promoted by "ambassadors" on social media who are in the "I'm trying to BQ one day" crowd. Their marketing has always turned me off because it's just people exchanging posts for discounted or free product so they can pretend like they are a sponsored athletes.

Honestly, it sounds like a lot of work to NOT have a sugared drink available. Is that really a special requirement? If all that other stuff, why not caloried drinks too?

I'll have to figure out how to carry gels. It sounds like wearing a hat is the best option for people that get IBS from fuel belts, stuffing your shorts.

I always thought that thread about a 2:30 marathoner wondering how best to carry fuel was a troll. Now I know it is a legitimate concern. Sub 2:30 marathoners need not worry as they get special arrangements.

If you sweat enough you will require electrolytes.

Electrolyte powder in a camelpak is a godsend in the field. Hours of running around in IOTV and MOPP gear easily equals 2:00-3:00 of hot weather marathoning.

Alan

I have to agree with the consensus here - this is incredibly dumb. The point of sports drinks during a marathon is to get easily digestible calories.

I've made plans to have family get me gatorade at a couple spots on the course. Not sure what I'd do if that wasn't an option.

I had a pretty good laugh at the baked goods and fruit being peddled as a viable option.

I ran CIM last year and I use UCAN so I personally didn't care that sports drinks wouldn't be offered but I was thinking if I was a Gatorade/sugar user I would have been really upset. They offer GU but that can be tough on your stomach. If you've never tried UCAN you might want to test it out. You can make it into a gel, take 30 minutes before the race and bring another gel for around the 2 hour mark. Of course you'd want to start using it now. It simplifies so much for me and since using it I've gone from a 3:23 to 3:09 marathon.

Precious Roy wrote:

The latest crusade in the "food" movement is against sports drinks. A friend on the west coast told me that he was almost beaten to death by crazed parents after he let the kids on the XC team he coaches drink Gatorade after a race. He may as well have served them bourbon or shot them up with herion. So, there are more and more people getting bent out of shape about sports drinks with HFCS.

I've seem somewhat the opposite with my daughter playing soccer. Two separate coaches in a row basically telling 11 year old girls that they won't play as well without a drink like Gatorade to keep their "energy" up. One coach sent out an email with info that looked like it came straight from Gatorade's website. Their games last an hour and they play about 5 minutes at a time before subs come in. If you have a kid that age that already is fighting a weight problem, the last thing you want is them to be downing a high calorie sports drink.

I just received a response back from the race coordinator. There will be peronal tables set up for the elites. You just have to bring your own bottles. That makes me feel much better.

RunnersFix wrote:

I just received a response back from the race coordinator. There will be peronal tables set up for the elites. You just have to bring your own bottles. That makes me feel much better.

Was that ever in doubt? How many US marathons with major prize money don't do elite fluids?

So are you are an elite runner or are you the 2:30 guy? If they let every sub 3:00 runner have their own bottles on the elite table, there will be chaos. This solves nothing for those that wanted convenient caloried drinks and trained with that.

RunnersFix wrote:

I just received a response back from the race coordinator. There will be peronal tables set up for the elites. You just have to bring your own bottles. That makes me feel much better.

No, I'm not the 2:30 guy. Just a trials hopeful.

annoying dog owner wrote:

If they let every sub 3:00 runner have their own bottles on the elite table, there will be chaos. This solves nothing for those that wanted convenient caloried drinks and trained with that.

RunnersFix wrote:

I just received a response back from the race coordinator. There will be peronal tables set up for the elites. You just have to bring your own bottles. That makes me feel much better.

Berlin lets EVERY runner have their own bottles if they want. It's not chaos. Most of the people who bother preparing their own and transporting them to the race in advance are subelites. Your average jogger isn't going fast enough that it's that hard to drink from a cup.

CIM 2:30 hopeful wrote:

I've made plans to have family get me gatorade at a couple spots on the course. Not sure what I'd do if that wasn't an option.

That's a sure way to get DQ'd.

22g of sugar every 30 minutes should be ample.

Randy Oldman wrote:

22g of sugar every 30 minutes should be ample.

Does anyone carry sugar packets in a marathon? Would that be lighter than GUs?

Cal I. Marathon wrote:

On the bright side, it does look like I can enjoy Erdinger non-alcoholic beer as my official recovery drink post-race.

Thanks, CIM.

The first time I ever had Erdinger was after last years CIM and it was the best non-alcoholic beer I've ever had. They don't sell it anywhere near me, but if they did, I would drink that over a lot of lagers.

BTW - little tip - the only reason I had the Erdinger is because I wasn't carrying ID and they won't let anyone buy beers (or get their free beer) if you don't have ID on you. So, if you want that free beer after the run, bring ID.

Sponsored wrote:

CIM 2:30 hopeful wrote:

I've made plans to have family get me gatorade at a couple spots on the course. Not sure what I'd do if that wasn't an option.

That's a sure way to get DQ'd.

You're allowed to receive outside aid "within a few feet of an aid station"