Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade

Apr 20, 24 8:19

Post #1 of 43 (3160 views)

Since the announcement of the transition from Gatorade to Mortal Hydration, there has been a lot of negative comments about the change. Maybe this is a good thing for the following reasons:

- Maybe having a large conglomerate company like Pepsi owning Gatorade is not as good as a small, nimble company like Mortal Hydration
- Maybe having a Mortal Hydration drink is better than having a Gatorade drink filled with sugars
- Maybe more athletes will "re-think" their nutrition, hydration and electrolytes
- Maybe changing drinks will re-vitalize and re-invigorate your training
- Maybe Ironman triathletes should try the drink in training and in a race to see if it's better than Gatorade
- Maybe most triathletes use the aid station drink to complement or augment their nutrition and do not solely depend on the drink during an event
- Maybe having a MH water bottle with only 10 grams of carbs is good because it makes you understand the need to get additional carbs from another source
- Maybe change is a good thing

Many years ago, everybody ate Powerbars during an Ironman and taped them to their top tube in little bit size chunks. Then additional bars like Cliff Bars surfaced and now the grocery store aisle is filled with energy bars but POWERBAR's are gone. Now their are bento boxes to store energy. Life changes.

Many years ago, triathlete bikes were predominately using 650 wheels. Now tri bikes use 700 wheels.

Many years ago, triathlete bikes pumped their tires up to 150 PSI. Today, race day bike tire pressure is 70 or 80 PSI.

I tried the Mortal Hydration mango flavor and like it a 10,000 times better than lemon lime Gatorade. In My Humble Opinion, we should see how the Ironman community can support a new sponsor, try out the product and see if it's better.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 9:03

Post #2 of 43 (3124 views)

I have no issues with Mortal as a hydration and electrolyte source. It also probably tastes perfectly fine.

I do believe the vast majority of athletes depend on what’s served on course for their fueling/hydration needs. That’s just how things are.

Mortal sucks supreme ass when it comes to the calorie and carbohydrate side of things.

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

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 9:21

Post #3 of 43 (3103 views)

candyman wrote:

In My Humble Opinion,

This is clearly a lie. A humble opinion would’ve been posted in the existing thread.

"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 9:42

Post #4 of 43 (3067 views)

I don’t disagree with you, mostly because I am not a Gatorade fan and use products that I bring with me on course.
But……. There is always a but. At Oceanside I wanted to try Mortal on course. During the run I was handed the super salty kind and it was more than awful. I spit it out and grabbed a water to rinse it out. I couldn’t taste a flavor, just salt.
I had bought the Mortal variety pack at the expo. I tried the berry flavored 1/2 as much salt packet and found it drinkable.
At Oceanside, the on bike the Mortal mixture seemed to be mixed in the one use plastic “water bottles “, but I didn’t grab one. I don’t know how they will be in the future races.
I would prefer Ironman not use any single use plastic.
On the run and/or bike will they have regular or twice the salt?
I will avoid Mortal like I did Gatorade.

Team Zoot So Cal

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 10:25

Post #5 of 43 (3016 views)

...or maybe not

are you telling people that having spent aero optimizing their bike to plaster food buffet on top of their bike?

and what do you do for FULL IM tape some powerbars or cliffbars to downtube as well? wear a backpack - sorry thats banned

not offering a carb drink for IM half or full will result in many more problems

so MAYBE IM should think not only about their pocket but safety of their participants? ...jsut MAYBE

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 11:28

Post #6 of 43 (2962 views)

I had Mortal at Las Vegas Half Marathon and did not care for it. Did not taste good to me, and I didn't really know what I was drinking at the time which.

I always factor the carbs and calories from Gatorade into my fueling plan for IM races, so now I guess I'll need to tweak all that. Count me as one who's not happy about the change.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 11:38

Post #7 of 43 (2939 views)

candyman wrote:

Life changes.

But caloric requirements for racing optimally stay the same.

What company do you work for again?

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [spudone] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 12:01

Post #8 of 43 (2899 views)

This is a classic case of the famous little book,

"Who Moved My Cheese?"

For the past 25 years, I've been going to races and eating the cheese (Gatorade) at Ironman races. However, the cheese has moved. The cheese is no longer available. As a smart mouse, you either quickly figure it out and come up with a "Plan B" or you sit around, groan and complain.

I'm a retired engineer and have no affiliation with Mortal Hydration. I've been on this web page since 2013 and have seen a lot of changes and there will be many more changes. I've done 34 Ironmans and am getting ready to do number 35 in Lake Placid in July. Thus, I have skin in the game just like others on this forum.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 12:39

Post #9 of 43 (2852 views)

This is dumb only because Mortal is DUMB for Ironman.

Repeat after me, "Don't drink diet drinks in an endurance race."

Just don't.

Is there anyone, ANYONE?!? who ever said in an Ironman, "I would like my drink to taste even sweeter than it actually is with less carbs to go with it."

If you want less carbs in your drink, that's fine. I can see that case being made. But why in the world would you want to it to taste extra sweet?

And why would you want a substance added to your endurance drink that is effectively dehydrates you and make you want to avoid taking in more carbs?

If Ironman said their races were now all self supported and had no nutrition I'd deal with it. No big deal.

It's the complete tone deaf nature of this move. It makes no sense for Ironman to supply a drink like this.

I don't often criticize Ironman. Usually, I'm opposed to the rabid critics against IM. But IM just made a deal for a product to be supplied to their customers that's actually detrimental. Not because they think it's the best move for their customers. Not because they had no other options; but they are giving their customers a knowingly inappropriate product because they are getting paid. It's not a question of not being the best product. Not everything has to be the best. But the product is just wrong. Seriously, if IM said had a meeting with a potential new sponsor to replace Coke with Diet Pepsi, I'd hope the marketing people in the room would understand their product and customers enough to know that it's just the wrong thing to offer them.

This lacks integrity. I feel bad for Mortal as they are just trying to promote their product. But it's the wrong market. If anyone DOESN'T need a diet drink it's someone currently engaged in 4-17 hours of continuous exercise.

Last edited by: Lurker4: Apr 20, 24 12:50

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 13:40

Post #10 of 43 (2760 views)

candyman wrote:

Since the announcement of the transition from Gatorade to Mortal Hydration, there has been a lot of negative comments about the change. Maybe this is a good thing for the following reasons:

- Maybe having a large conglomerate company like Pepsi owning Gatorade is not as good as a small, nimble company like Mortal Hydration
- Maybe having a Mortal Hydration drink is better than having a Gatorade drink filled with sugars
- Maybe more athletes will "re-think" their nutrition, hydration and electrolytes
- Maybe changing drinks will re-vitalize and re-invigorate your training
- Maybe Ironman triathletes should try the drink in training and in a race to see if it's better than Gatorade
- Maybe most triathletes use the aid station drink to complement or augment their nutrition and do not solely depend on the drink during an event
- Maybe having a MH water bottle with only 10 grams of carbs is good because it makes you understand the need to get additional carbs from another source
- Maybe change is a good thing

Many years ago, everybody ate Powerbars during an Ironman and taped them to their top tube in little bit size chunks. Then additional bars like Cliff Bars surfaced and now the grocery store aisle is filled with energy bars but POWERBAR's are gone. Now their are bento boxes to store energy. Life changes.

Many years ago, triathlete bikes were predominately using 650 wheels. Now tri bikes use 700 wheels.

Many years ago, triathlete bikes pumped their tires up to 150 PSI. Today, race day bike tire pressure is 70 or 80 PSI.

I tried the Mortal Hydration mango flavor and like it a 10,000 times better than lemon lime Gatorade. In My Humble Opinion, we should see how the Ironman community can support a new sponsor, try out the product and see if it's better.

The fact that one could substitute "Clamato" for "Mortal Hydration" in your post without impacting the validity of any of the points is troubling.

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 16:24

Post #11 of 43 (2634 views)

candyman wrote:

you either quickly figure it out and come up with a "Plan B" or you sit around, groan and complain.

The fact that people will need to adjust their plans is pretty much the point of the initial post on this topic.

I guarantee you a lot of people won't know about this change until it hits them in a race. Others will learn about it because they read the details on a forum like this.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [spudone] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 16:38

Post #12 of 43 (2613 views)

I just reached out to two people that have done a 70.3 each year for the last two decades and neither had any idea about the change and they are signed up for races this year. So many people are going to be caught off guard by the sweet drinks with no carbs on course.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [Lagoon] [ In reply to ]

Apr 20, 24 16:50

Post #13 of 43 (2603 views)

Also, have you noticed the changes to special needs?

Over the last couple years' races, you had to request SN bags if you intended to use them. OK no big deal, save some plastic waste I guess.

But when I signed up for IM New Zealand 2025 about a week ago, you had to request the special needs bags as part of the checkout process and IM charges you extra. I think it was 6 bucks a bag or something.

Nice little racket when they're also not providing you with enough on course nutrition.

Shouldn't they be recouping enough $$ already by cutting Active out of the loop? /sigh

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [Lurker4] [ In reply to ]

Apr 21, 24 23:18

Post #14 of 43 (2213 views)

Lurker4 wrote:

If Ironman said their races were now all self supported and had no nutrition I'd deal with it. No big deal.

How long until this is true? They'll charge the same (or more) and just give water...

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [Lurker4] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 4:23

Post #15 of 43 (2136 views)

This is dumb only because Mortal is DUMB for Ironman.

Repeat after me, "Don't drink diet drinks in an endurance race."

Just don't.

Funny story from years ago at a half race that no longer exists. At the old Orillia Half Ironman, they had an aid station at the bike turnaround. The volunteer assigned to pick up the food and drink from a sponsoring local grocery store assumed that part of the order must be wrong, because there was Coke as part of the list. They demanded that the order be switched to Diet Coke, assuming that these endurance athletes surely wouldn't have sugar filled junk in their diet! So we all got Diet Coke, when looking forward to a good hit of sugar and calories. Funny story, and everyone laughed about it after, when the race director announced what had happened. Point is, we need the calories,...and only in ignorance should it be any other way!

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 6:40

Post #16 of 43 (2057 views)

Nobody liked the Gatorade or willing used it when not forced to by IM. Yet they managed to make people miss it with how badly they botched this. Yet people will still give IM their money, so not sure their decisions will hurt them that much in the end.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [spudone] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 8:11

Post #17 of 43 (1974 views)

North American IMs don't charge for special needs bags. The special needs bag situation depends on the country and their stance on recycling and pollution. It isn't a cash grab by IM...it's a way to limit environmental impact of the race. (ex. Challenge Roth doesn't even have a special needs bag option).

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [candyman] [ In reply to ]

theyellowcarguy

Apr 22, 24 11:29

Post #18 of 43 (1855 views)

Mortal goes against purposeful liquid nutrition for an endurance event. So no, it will never be good. Gatorade was literally created to solve this purpose and has scientific facts that back up usage of it or similar products. Products like mortal are purely a moneygrab and solving a use case of people that want to drink something with less calories than sports drinks because they are fat. Those products does not belong in sport.

Replacing gatorade with mortal is like replacing gels, bananas, and other food options with romain lettuce.

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

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [theyellowcarguy] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 11:43

Post #19 of 43 (1827 views)

Keep in mind no one knows why Mortal was selected. But Gatorade forced the hand of Ironman by discontinuing their Endurance formula. Global product availability, supply chain, packaging, ingredients, etc. I'm sure there's complexity around being a hydration/nutrition sponsor for events around the globe which extends beyond just how many grams of carbs your product contains. Personally I think Mortal is a dumb replacement for Gatorade Endurance and it could very well be a band-aid until a better option pans out. Maurten comes to mind? NeverSecond would be another great option (inoffensive taste and good carb/sodium content). But I can't think of another company that actually bottles their product besides Gatorade, so it seems whatever the long term solution is would require the vendor to bottle it themselves or Ironman just puts that burden on the volunteers.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [Th4ddy] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 13:21

Post #20 of 43 (1761 views)

Th4ddy wrote:

Keep in mind no one knows why Mortal was selected.

It'$ obviou$ why Mortal wa$ $selected.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [Th4ddy] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 13:35

Post #21 of 43 (1736 views)

Are they actually discontinuing their Endurance formula? As in I should go stockpile some from Amazon?

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [mathematics] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 14:50

Post #22 of 43 (1679 views)

mathematics wrote:

Th4ddy wrote:

Keep in mind no one knows why Mortal was selected.

It'$ obviou$ why Mortal wa$ $selected.

I'm thinking it doesn't bode well for us in regards to the new CEO. I'd be surprised if he wasn't aware of this so perhaps the leadership is a bit unaware.....

Kiwami Racing Team

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [GaryGeiger] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 15:11

Post #23 of 43 (1656 views)

That's a fair point. I can't imagine the new CEO is so clueless about his customers that he thinks selling them a diet drink is a good idea? But if he does...then it reflects pretty poorly on him. At the end of the day, that's what's happen, so I guess it's the case.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [Lurker4] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 15:28

Post #24 of 43 (1636 views)

Either he was/is clueless about this, or he knows and just didn't care. Reflects poorly on him either way, I'd say.

Re: Maybe Mortal Hydration is better than Gatorade [elf6c] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 24 16:22

Post #25 of 43 (1572 views)

elf6c wrote:

Nobody liked the Gatorade or willing used it when not forced to by IM. Yet they managed to make people miss it with how badly they botched this. Yet people will still give IM their money, so not sure their decisions will hurt them that much in the end.

Love Gatorade, hate Maurten with a passion.

Gatorade is the product that everything else chases to be like. They're the giant in sports hydration. Would say the population of people using Scratch, Tailwind, LMNT, etc in training vs Gatorade is probably 50/50. But they they get on course that shifts to like 80/20 and only gets smaller as those people use their nutrition.

Now we have a hyrdration beverage that has 400 followers on instagram? How do they event have the manufacturing capacity to meet the demand of Ironman let alone their actual sales?

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

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