Endurance Sports

Endurance sport means long, repeated efforts: a marathon block, a sportive, an open water swim, a first triathlon. The limiting factor is rarely one session. It is repeating sessions for months. So your shopping list splits in two: what you use during exercise, and what you take every day. Both sit inside our wider sports nutrition range, but they answer different questions.

During exercise it comes down to carbohydrate and sodium

For efforts up to roughly an hour, water is usually enough. Beyond that you work through stored carbohydrate and you lose sodium in sweat. Carbohydrate solutions contribute to the maintenance of endurance performance during prolonged endurance exercise, and carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions enhance water absorption during physical exercise. How much sodium you lose differs widely between athletes, so one fixed drink mix cannot suit everyone. That is why we stock electrolyte tablets and powders next to complete drink mixes. You can then set your sodium and your carbohydrate separately.

The forms differ more than the labels suggest

A gel is compact and easy to carry, but it is concentrated and usually needs water alongside it. A drink mix delivers fluid, carbohydrate and sodium in one bottle, which works well on the bike and is harder to manage while running. Chews sit in between and let you split the dose. Salt capsules add sodium without calories, which helps in heat. We carry energy gels for long rides in different textures, because a fuelling plan usually fails on taste and stomach comfort, not on the numbers on the label.

How we choose what we stock

We look at three things: the form, the dose and whether a combination genuinely makes sense. For in-session fuel that means checking the carbohydrate per serving and the sodium per litre, not the flavour list. For daily basics we prefer well-absorbed forms, magnesium bisglycinate rather than oxide, and we want the EPA and DHA stated separately instead of only the total fish oil. We buy directly from the brands, so what arrives is authentic. Every product passes our compliance team, we test products ourselves and independent labs spot-check batches. You can read how we select brands.

Daily basics do a different job

Race-day products cover the session. The daily layer carries the training block. Proteins contribute to the maintenance of muscle mass, which matters for endurance athletes too, not only in the gym. Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function and to the reduction of fatigue and tiredness. Vitamin C contributes to the maintenance of the normal function of the immune system during and after intense physical exercise. From October to March the sun in the UK is too weak for your skin to make vitamin D, so a daily supplement makes sense in those months. Our recovery and hydration products group the post-session part together.

Be realistic about the timeline. A better fuelling plan is noticeable in the same session. Daily nutrients need two to three weeks of consistent use before you can judge them. And rehearse your race nutrition in training: your gut needs the same repetition as your legs, and that is cheaper to learn on a Sunday long run than on race morning.