Product Review: Vitargo Electrolyte

Getting enough fluids on board in a marathon is a perenial problem for athletes and it seems the faster you run the more difficult it becomes. In previous races I have used either High 5 or SIS, both brands of sports drink containing a mix of electrolytes and carbohydrate designed to replenish the body's fuel supplies on the run. And like many athletes I have had problems absorbing the drink. You know that feeling when the drink is sloshing around inside your stomach. Its not much fun !

While training in St Moritz this summer my Polish friend Rafa Woijcik gave me some sachets of the Swedish product Vitargo Electrolyte . Rafa had used it with some success in recent marathons and was planning on taking it during the forthcoming Warsaw Marathon. What makes Vitargo different from most of the other drinks is the size of the carbohydrate molecules it uses. They are significantly smaller than those derived from maltodextrin in most sports drinks and as such should be absorbed faster, which reduces feelings of bloatedness and 'sloshing' in the stomach.

Experimentation with Vitargo on several of my long tempo runs looked promising so I decided to use the Pink Grape flavour in Toronto. And what a success it proved to be. I was able to get my drinks on board at all of the drinks station and had no stomach problems to worry about. Now I just need to find a supply of it in the UK !