Seems like the last thing I would want in my stomach during a hard race, yet I've heard runners like Sage Canaday say they drink cans of the shit during a race. So what is it? The carbs? Does it help settle the stomach? Will drinking it before shorter track races help me?
It´s defizzed. Carbs plus it tastes good.
Yep!! wrote:
It´s defizzed.
Not usually.
Sugar, caffeine, a change from the same nutrition drink you've been putting into yourself for hours on end, and the carbonation can help settle some runners' stomachs. a 170 calorie can of soda can be way easier to ingest than solid food or gels/standard nutrition products when your digestive system rejects most things that you put in it later in a race.
Mountain Dew is my go-to if they have it at aid stations, otherwise Coke or anything else sugary and caffeinated works.
Yep!! wrote:
It´s defizzed. Carbs plus it tastes good.
Triathletes love their soda on towards the end of the longer races. I've volunteered in a few races, we typically get bottles of soda on the morning of the race and open them ASAP to get rid of the fizz.
Problem is that there isn't enough time so they are still plenty fizzy by the time the athletes get there, especially the leaders.
If it was defizzed the night before or something it would be good, but usually that isn't the case.
We are not talking about tri-geeks. The question was about ultramarathon runners and this is letsrun, not letstri
Other than that, seriously, good point about them not being defizzed enough by simply opening them race morning. Had never even thought of that.
My dad (now in his upper 60s) talks about defizzed Coke basically being the first "sports drink" or Gatorade (he still does it every now and then). I will say, having done a few ultras, you get sick of the taste of Gatorade and gels. Mountain Dew might be the best tasting liquid on Earth after about six or seven hours of an ultra.
Zach Gingrich, who would Badwater once or twice as I recall, drank Diet Coke like a fiend.
ultra runners be crazy... wrote:
Seems like the last thing I would want in my stomach during a hard race, yet I've heard runners like Sage Canaday say they drink cans of the shit during a race. So what is it? The carbs? Does it help settle the stomach? Will drinking it before shorter track races help me?
For the same reason pro cyclists do
If you do an ultra in Philadelphia, you are now going to be taxed and billed after the race for the amount of soda you drank! :)
Frank Shorter drank de-fizzed coke during the 1972 Olympic Marathon.