Endurance Drink Mix - Caffeinated

$45.00 USD

Please check our new bag size for all remaining flavors as we are phasing this bag out for our new 10 serving bag. 

This product is created specifically for endurance athletes performing over 60 minutes of continuous exercise to feel and perform at your best. 

  • Developed from current sports performance research 
  • Replaces needed nutrients during hard racing and training efforts 
  • Glucose to Fructose ratio of 1:0.8 based on current sports performance research
  • Top 12 allergen free
  • Exceptional taste
  • Optimal fuel for cyclists, triathletes, ultra runners, backpacking, climbing, snow sports and outdoor adventures
  • With caffeine contains 184 mg caffeine to boost performance (3 scoops)

Ingredients: organic tapioca maltodextrin, organic agave powder, citric acid, sea salt, fruit, rice maltodextrin. In caffeinated blends: caffeine extracted from green coffee beans.

    Directions: Mix 2-3 scoops with 16-24 ounces (2-3) cups of water. Shake vigorously and let dissolve for 15 minutes.*  

    High Sodium: Contains 780 mg Sodium per two scoops and 1170mg per 3 scoops.

    Low Sodium: Contains 200 mg Sodium per two scoops and 300 mg per 3 scoops.

    *Powder texture variability and small clumps are normal. This will dissolve in water. The raspberry and strawberry flavors may contain seeds naturally found in whole raspberries and strawberries. 

    Customer Reviews

    Based on 70 reviews
    93%
    (65)
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    100.0
    96.3
    T
    Tom Fernandez
    Flow- Lemon Lime

    The taste is spot on, just tart enough and not sweet. So far I’ve only used in training and it’s preformed well. Only negative is the serving scoop is WAY too big. I actually had to use the scoop from my Skratch high carb to make bottles as it’s easier to pour into bottle. 3 scoops for ~60grams of carbs.

    A
    Alex Lathan
    Great Buy

    Flow Endurance is a great energy booster for my workouts. It gives steady energy without crashes and is easy on the stomach. The taste is good, and it helps keep you going strong. 2nd year strong,

    N
    Nate K
    After about 6-7 bags

    I used to use other drink mixes but they were either cost-prohibitive (Skratch Superfuel) or ended up causing GI distress (Tailwind). Not sure if you’ve ever had a GI problem MTBing in the backwoods of West Virginia in the middle of summer, but it’s a real come-to-Jesus moment.

    Flow has been wonderful. Never even an inkling of a thought of GI distress. The bags last a while and go on sale every so often. The biggest complaint is that the scoop is abhorrently bad. That needs to go back to the drawing board. It’s too wide and you end up spraying carb mix like a fine mist everywhere all the time. And of course, once it’s on the outside of the bottle it gets sticky when wet.

    Please change the scoop.

    User picture
    J
    Jacob Crockett
    This is my favorite mix on the market

    I love the ease of getting exactly what I need. At the 60 ratio the flavor is not too mild, and at the 90 ratio the flavor is not too strong. It mixes easily (don't worry about small clumps immediately after mixing--they always work themselves out). Flow Formula's 60/90 has helped my kids and me win races and earn championships, all without any GI distress--it just works and tastes great. I do have a significant complaint about the included scoop--it's too wide for virtually every bike water bottle on the market (and even for a Nalgene bottle). If the scoop was narrower but deeper, I'd have nothing but praise!

    J
    Jimmy Klose

    Great!

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    Who would benefit from using the Endurance Drink Mix?

    The Endurance Drink Mix is specifically designed as a sole source of fuel and fluid for endurance athletes performing continuous exercise greater than one hour.

    Why doesn't the Endurance Drink Mix contain protein?

    The research on endurance athletes ingesting protein supplements (branched amino acids) during exercise have mixed results and predominantly do not show improved results in performance. [1- 4]

    [1] Tarpey, M. D., Roberts, J. D., Kass, L. S., Tarpey, R. J., & Roberts, M. G. (2013). The ingestion of protein with a maltodextrin and fructose beverage on substrate utilisation and exercise performance. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 38(12), 1245–1253. 

    [2] Oosthuyse, T., Carstens, M., & Millen, A. (2015). Whey or Casein Hydrolysate with Carbohydrate for Metabolism and Performance in Cycling. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(08), 636–646. 

    [3] Gui, Z., Sun, F., Si, G., Chen, Y. Effect of protein and carbohydrate solutions on performance and cognitive function in female recreational runners. Plos One. 2017 Oct 12;12(10):e0185982.

    [4] Fink, H.H., Mikesky, A.E. (2015). Practical applications in sports nutrition. 4th ed. Burlington, MA: Jones & Barlett Learning.

    Why do I need more calories per hour than I'm burning?

    Below shows the estimated energy expenditure of a 135 pound individual performing different types of exercise. As you can see the 360 calories consumed through Flow Formulas is still considerably less than the energy expended through exercise. [1]

    Female Athlete 
    Running 10 min/mile 550 kcal/hr 
    Running 6:30 min/mile 825 kcal/hr 
    Bicycling vigorous/racing 660 kcal/hr 
    Swimming freestyle vigorous 550 kcal/hr

    [1] Dunford, M., & Doyle, JA. (2015). Nutrition for sport and exercise. 3rd. ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

    Should I always use 90 grams of carbohydrate when I exercise?

    Typically you will not need to ingest carbohydrates in activities lasting under 90 minutes. In exercise bouts of over 90 minutes it is important to start training your gut. Initially, some athletes may not be able to tolerate more than 60-75 grams per hour. If this is the case it is best to start with 60 grams per hour (two scoops) and work your way up to the full 90 grams per hour (three scoops) over a period of a month.

    Why does the Endurance Drink Mix have a 0.8:1 fructose:glucose ratio?

    Research to date shows an increase in carbohydrate utilization, absorption, and power output with ratios greater than 0.7:1 with the lowest GI discomfort (stomach fullness, abdominal cramping, and nausea) at a ratio of 0.8:1. [1-3]

    [1] O’Brien, W. J., & Rowlands, D. S. (2011). Fructose-maltodextrin ratio in a carbohydrate-electrolyte solution differentially affects exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rate, gut comfort, and performance. American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, 300(1), G181–G189. 

    [2] O'Brien, W.J., Stannard, S.R., Clarke, J.A., Rowlands, D.S. Fructose–Maltodextrin Ratio Governs Exogenous and Other CHO Oxidation and Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 45(9), 1814–1824.

    [3] Rowlands, D. S., Houltham, S., Musa-Veloso, K., Brown, F., Paulionis, L., & Bailey, D. (2015b). Fructose–Glucose Composite Carbohydrates and Endurance Performance: Critical Review and Future Perspectives. Sports Medicine, 45(11), 1561–1576. 

    Isn’t 90 grams over the recommended 30-60 grams of carbohydrate to the hour?

    This recommendation is for single source carbohydrate solutions (glucose) as anything above 60 grams has showed delayed gastric emptying and increased abdominal distress. [1] In multisource carbohydrate solutions, absorption is significantly increased [2-5], one study even showed up to 55% more carbohydrate oxidation than single source carbohydrate solutions. [2]

    [1]. Dunford, M., & Doyle, J. A. (2015). Nutrition for Sport and Exercise. 3rd. Ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

    [2] Roberts, J. D., Tarpey, M. D., Kass, L. S., Tarpey, R. J., & Roberts, M. G. (2014). Assessing a Commercially Available Sports Drink on Exogenous Carbohydrate Oxidation, Fluid Delivery and Sustained Exercise Performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11(1), 1–14. 

    [3] Jentjens, R. L. P. G., Moseley, L., Waring, R. H., Harding, L. K., & Jeukendrup, A. E. (2004). Oxidation of Combined Ingestion of Glucose and Fructose During Exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 96(4), 1277–1284.

    [4] Jentjens, R. L. P. G., Underwood, K., Achten, J., Currell, K., Mann, C. H., & Jeukendrup, A. E. (2006). Exogenous Carbohydrate Oxidation Rates are Elevated After Combined Ingestion of Glucose and Fructose During Exercise in the Heat. Journal of Applied Physiology, 100(3), 807–816.

    [5] Rowlands, D. S., Houltham, S., Musa-Veloso, K., Brown, F., Paulionis, L., & Bailey, D. (2015). Fructose–Glucose Composite Carbohydrates and Endurance Performance: Critical Review and Future Perspectives. Sports Medicine, 45(11), 1561–1576.

    Isn’t the Endurance Drink Mix over the 6-8% carbohydrate solution recommendation?

    The original purpose of the 6-8% solution guideline was to prevent slowing of gastric emptying which leads to GI distress. Multiple studies prove that solutions with multiple carbohydrate sources (i.e. glucose and fructose) increase gastric emptying and allow much higher than a 8% carbohydrate solution without additional GI distress. [1-6] What does all this mean? Consuming a multisource carbohydrate solution allows you to absorb more energy for better performance. [3]

    [1] Shi, X., Summers, R.W., Schedl, H.P., Flanagan, S.W., Chang, R., Gisolfi, C.V. (1995) Effects of Carbohydrate Type and Concentration and Solution Osmolality on Water Absorption. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Dec;27(12):1607-15.

    [2] Jeukendrup, A. E., & Moseley, L. (2010). Multiple Transportable Carbohydrates Enhance Gastric Emptying and Fluid Delivery. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 20(1), 112–121. 

    [3] Roberts, J. D., Tarpey, M. D., Kass, L. S., Tarpey, R. J., & Roberts, M. G. (2014). Assessing a Commercially Available Sports Drink on Exogenous Carbohydrate Oxidation, Fluid Delivery and Sustained Exercise Performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11(1), 8.

    [4] Jentjens, R. L. P. G., Moseley, L., Waring, R. H., Harding, L. K., & Jeukendrup, A. E. (2004). Oxidation of Combined Ingestion of Glucose and Fructose During Exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 96(4), 1277–1284.

    [5] JJentjens, R. L. P. G., Underwood, K., Achten, J., Currell, K., Mann, C. H., & Jeukendrup, A. E. (2006). Exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates are elevated after combined ingestion of glucose and fructose during exercise in the heat. Journal of Applied Physiology, 100(3), 807–816.

    [6] Rowlands, D. S., Houltham, S., Musa-Veloso, K., Brown, F., Paulionis, L., & Bailey, D. (2015). Fructose–Glucose Composite Carbohydrates and Endurance Performance: Critical Review and Future Perspectives. Sports Medicine, 45(11), 1561–1576.

    Why does the Endurance Drink Mix contain sodium chloride as the only source of electrolytes?

    Many other hydration products contain other types electrolytes such as potassium and magnesium but according to research these do not show any further benefits to hydration or performance. [1]

    [1] Vitale, K., & Getzin, A. (2019). Nutrition and Supplement Update for the Endurance Athlete: Review and Recommendations. Nutrients, 11(6), 1289. 

    What are the top 12 allergens?

    The Endurance Drink Mix is free from the following top 12 allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, soy, gluten, egg, fish, shellfish, corn, sesame, coconut and mustard.

    Isn't citric acid and maltodextrin made from corn?

    Finding corn-free ingredients for the Endurance Drink Mix was one of the biggest challenges in bringing this drink to the market. Almost all of the current endurance sports drinks use corn as a precursor for maltodextrin and citric acid. To get past this hurdle,  we chose to use tapioca maltodextrin. It breaks down exactly like corn maltodextrin but removes the allergy symptoms that come from corn. Citric acid is typically derived from corn but can be found from a variety of fruits and plants. Our citric acid is derived from the molasses of beets, sugar cane, or cassava. 

    Why does the Race 90 with caffeine contain 184 mg caffeine per serving? Doesn't that seem like too much?

    Originally, most of the research on caffeine and endurance athletes was at higher doses, 6 mg/kg and higher which would equate to 368 mg caffeine or about 3 cups coffee. According to research, caffeine enhances endurance performance in amounts of 3 mg/kg with little to no increased benefits in higher dosages. [1,2] Flow Formulas contains 184 mg caffeine which equates to about 3 mg/kg for a 135 pound individual.

    [1] Desbrow, B., Biddulph, C., Devlin, B., Grant, G. D., Anoopkumar-Dukie, S., & Leveritt, M. D. The effects of different doses of caffeine on endurance cycling time trial performance. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2012 Dec; 30(2), 115-120.

    [2] Desbrow, B., Irwin, C., Ellis, A., Okeeffe, B., Grant, G., & Leveritt, M. Caffeine Withdrawal and High Intensity Endurance Cycling Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011 Mar; 42, 106. 

    How do I train my gut to tolerate the full serving of Race 90? 

    Below is a chart on how to train your gut to tolerate 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour. 

    Is the Endurance Mix Kosher?
    While Flow Formula's does not have a kosher certification all of our ingredients have a kosher certificate.