Fame?

As a sports & fitness magazine editor, I'm pretty careful when it comes to endorsing various nutritional and sports supplementation products. Over the years, I've tried just about every powder, pill, drink formulation, and "energy" bar. Some of them, frankly speaking, would make a maggot gag...despite their claims of health and performance.

In 1999 or so, I met a guy that would change how I looked at refueling and sports nutrition. Steve Born, a veteran ultracyclist and accomplished athlete, turned me on to the products manufactured by E-Caps (the company now known as Hammer Nutrition). It was an eye-opening experience. In addition to field testing their products personally in numerous feats of endurance (RAAM, Furnace Creek 508, etc.), Steve had up-close-and-personal crewing experience for RAAM riders and ultrarunners. His front row seat to the trials, tribulations, and epic barfing sessions of the athletes under his wing served as valuable input to the scientists back in the Hammer laboratories. The results of much of the company's research led to a product called Perpetuem, which I now use as the cornerstone as the fueling strategy in my long workouts and races.

Like any athlete, I like to use what really works well. That's why when Hammer asked me to write a short testimonial, I didn't hesitate to put a few short sentences down on paper. You can see the company's ad and my testimonial on PAGE 4 of the 2007 "race bible" for the Badwater Ultramarathon.

Read more on my nutritional strategy HERE.