that's not correct for Texas 70.3 - they had orange gatorade on the bike course. it was the powder mixed in water bottles though.

---

the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

Good to know. I had a few people tell me otherwise.

---

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Any word which Mortal will be on course? They seem to have a Normal version and a Salty one. I'd prefer the Salty but I'm not optimistic they'll have options like that.

---

Too old to go pro but doing it anyway
http://instagram.com/tgarvey4

Highlighted text is from the race director of ironman Maryland per the guy who posted this on fb

Looks like gels are back on the menu, boys.

I have nothing against Mortal, but this simply isn't gonna work. Gonna need way more than 8g sugar per serving to function as a sports drink.

I also learned from Angie that it's the normal version only. Not salty.

She's the best. And I'm still not a fan of this change.

---

Too old to go pro but doing it anyway
http://instagram.com/tgarvey4

Yeah, how did Maryland end up with two amazing race directors in a row? They just know how to pull off amazing things.

And it's official. Gatorade to be phased out for all events from July onwards.

https://www.triathlete.com/culture/news/ironman-on-course-drink-mortal-hydration/




Nothing like saying to racers that if you want any carbs you should probably think about bringing your own. It's not hard to manage for the bike, but for the run suddenly we all need to get creative.

Steve McKenna must be thrilled. Nerd Belts for the win!

I think my plan for the run will be to take a concentrate hand flask and then flush with water at aid stations, but for the IM distance I might go full running vest.

Who's Steve McKenna?

That's what I already do (concentrated flask and running bottle sleeve). What really disappoints me though is instead of drinking from my hand flask and banking the "free" maurten gels in my pocket to save for later I might actually have to start using the gels on course when my flask runs out!

It's also somewhere in the batshit insane file that volunteers have to make these bottles by hand for the bike aid stations.

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Yeah. And I've seen how that stuff often gets mixed. 😬

A pro from down under. I think he's the dude who does the robot to cut the tape.

It's really bizarre these two pairings.

I can see why Mortal Hydration wants to be able to advertise their drink like some kind of endurance formula and hype up how well they perform to non-athletes just wanting to sip something "healthy" (ahem, er ya....) as they go about their day at work. Why else would you add stevia to jazz up the sweetness (and nasty aftertaste) without the extra calories.

But clearly the typical Ironman athlete is someone who is thinking a lot about how many calories they need to add, not subtract.

So the people they are advertising using their product are actually annoyed and upset at having to use the product. They are creating negative goodwill. Meanwhile, the desk jockeys who don't know any better, but just want to kick their habit of drinking soda and think this is a healthier alternative will get to see images of athletes using this stuff and assume that's how you get to be so fit to run an Ironman, by drinking a low cal drink....

It's like the reverse of the original thought behind gatorade -- use for fueling sport, suddenly becomes the drink people take when they are sitting around not doing sport. And now we have a drink made for sitting around not doing sport....used to fuel sport?

I assume they fill them in Europe already, so maybe they figured it's not such a big deal to do so here. At least in Lahti they were handing out reusable water bottles on the bike course.

There is something to be said for the environmental impact being reduced that just happens to line up with the bottom line savings -- win win! Trucking around all that water/gatorade just do dump most of it on the ground/trash does seem pretty inefficient. Now we can drink it out of the volunteer captains garden hose :) hah

Correct

Not to mention the user experience for newcomers to the 70.3 or IM distance. I think most of us here will be fine, if annoyed, but imagine you're nervously taking your first step up to a new distance and trying out a 70.3 or IM. You're probably used to drinking "sport drink" as part of your training and taken that as your nutrition at shorter distances. Now you try this, not thinking anything of it besides "this is the sports drink they give out at races" and you're guaranteed to have a bad day. Some will rebound, and try again, but others (or others on their 2nd try) will come to the conclusion that the distance isn't for them. Sure, there's a million things that can go wrong with your race, but you're guaranteeing that someone will because of this product.

This can't be good for IM's outreach strategy

At Galveston 70.3 I watched someone completely empty the contents of their stomach into some bushes. It was the exact same color as the Mortal they were serving on course.

Who would have thought there could be negative consequences from drink a substance with this ingredient at every bike aid and run aid station?

"Stevia is considered a diuretic, meaning that it increases the speed at which the body expels water and electrolytes from the body in urine"
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/...sks-and-side-effects

Stevia makes me pee like crazy, I’d literally have to stop every 15min if I drank this.

---

My Strava | My Instagram | Summerville, SC | 35-39 AG | 4:41 (70.3), 10:05 (140.6) | 3x70.3, 1x140.6 | Cat 2 Cyclist

I think this is a huge misstep for Ironman. I get that Gatorade Endurance is no longer being made but why not just use Gatorade? My personal opinion is that it’s easier to carry some extra electrolytes than to carry extra cals and carbs.

---

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Damn, main takeaway from this thread is that you are a bunch of fucking cry babies!

Wonder how folks back in the day survived their ironman races without the exact proper proportions and types of sweetners/electrolytes being served to them on course...

How scientific!....

Ok so seriously what’s the plan (as athletes) now that Mortal is the drink. I hate Stevia and see no place for it in my training and racing nutrition. I need energy, I consume sugar. Are lots of people going to now bring tons of bottles of their own sh*t? I have done Gatorade endurance bottles from the aid stations for years on the bike and loved keeping my bike light, not loaded up like an RV during a race, just grab bottles when I needed them. All of a sudden it now seems like if I want to avoid artificial sweetener I now need to bring my own drinks?! This is so disappointing.