Isotonic drinks
How many of you are regularly buying expensive sports drinks (Lucozade, Gatorade, etc)? Well, you don't need to. Most supermarkets market their own brands. Tesco's own brand is called "active" (they also sell their own version of Red Bull, called "Kick").
Or how about mixing your own. I make mine by filling a recycled drinks bottle with diluted fruit squash, and adding a level teaspoon of sugar (I use fructose, available at all supermarkets) and a small amount of salt (I use Lo-Salt, a potassium not sodium salt, to avoid high blood pressure). Sometimes, for extra energy, I also add some Maxim carbohydrate powder, which can be bought from Boots or health food shops.
It tastes just fine on most runs, and saves a lot of money, or am I just mean?
Isotonic Drinks
Thanks for your reply Mike. I hadn't seen this site before, and it certainly adds value to this topic.
I also believe that nothing replaces being well hydrated before and after a run, and have even helped our Sunday marathon group out with a 'bottle drop' when our route crosses my drive in to the Look Out, but this becomes a logistical problem sometimes.
Not Mean - Just Sensible
I spent some time looking into this in the Winter of 07/08 when I was doing a lot of long distance training runs. It was quickly clear to me that the guys who produce these iso/hypotonic & energy drinks are laughing all the way to the bank - the profit margins must be absolutely astronomical.
I found a couple of good websites including - this one from the Harrow Rugby Club which has a good general write up as well as details for how to make your own without exceeding the recommended levels of salt and sugar. I modified the recipie so the 1 litre of water was 250ml pure orange juice, 750ml water with the 30g of sugar reduced by how much sugar was in the orange juice.