Notes

Xact Nutrition
Xact Nutrition


By Ryan.
I began running about 4 years ago (at the age of 38) with the intention of never running any more than 5km and never running “competitively”. Like many former competitive athletes however, once the competitive juices started to flow, I was hooked! health, fitness, wellness, ankle brace, ankle support, healthy, physiotherapy, movement, orthopedic braces, compression began wanting to run further and to run faster, and once I had a taste of “in-person” races I was hooked.

I ran my first marathon in the fall of 2021. I had a decent training plan which I followed religiously and a great running partner (whom had a lot more experience than I had). I thought that I also had a “decent” fueling strategy for my run (though in retrospect I now realize that I had almost no fueling strategy!). My pre-race fuel (or nutrition) on race day consisted of my then typical breakfast of overnight oats, some electroctrolytes and water for hydration (which I had to expel 8km into my race!). I then took a gel 15mins before the race, hydrated with a mix of water and electrolytes at hydration stations throughout the race, and consumed a grand total of 2 gels throughout my race. I felt great for most of the race, but at about the 32km mark I really started to struggle. I managed to finish the race in a time of 3:16 which I was satisfied with for my first marathon, though I immediately started to consider how I could improve upon this.

Weeks of self-reflection led me to believe that either I had not performed enough lower extremity strengthening exercises (as I only ever wanting to run) and that perhaps I hadn’t done enough mileage (at the time an average training week consisted of about 80-90km of training). One variable that I never considered at this time was my fueling or nutrition strategy, in fact, it wasn’t until a couple of months prior to my second marathon this past fall, that I realized the flaws in my fueling/nutrition strategy.

This past November Kratos Health decided to set up a booth at the Hamilton Marathon/Road to hope (https://www.hamiltonmarathon.ca) which I was also going to run in. Coincidentally, Xact nutrition (https://www.xactnutrition.com) was set up next to us. I decided to discuss my fueling/nutrition and hydration strategy with Marcel and his knowledgeable team. I was so impressed with what they had to say and so impressed with their products that I decided to change my fueling/nutrition and hydration strategy on race day (I would not normally recommend this!).

On race day, I had my overnight oats and a banana along with the Xact electrolyte tablet(https://www.kratoshealth.ca/product/xact-electrolyte-hydration-tablets-lemon/118) (being careful not to overhydrate this time!). I had an Xact fruit bar about 15mins before the race (https://www.kratoshealth.ca/product/xact-orange-fruit-bar/120) as well as one every 30mins throughout the race. I hydrated with the electrolyte drink only (no plain water) throughout the race as it has the optimal amount of sodium and doesn’t upset my stomach like many “sweeter” electrolytes. Post-race I had an Xact protein wafer (https://www.kratoshealth.ca/product/xact-protein-wafer-chocolate/122).

I am proud to say that this nutrition/fueling and hydration strategy was certainly a factor in reducing my leg fatigue late in the run. I was able to maintain a steady pace throughout the entire race and came in at 3:00 and qualified for the Boston Marathon (https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon). I can’t wait to try out my Xact nutrition fueling/nutrition strategy in April 2024.

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