Roctane by GU Review

I recently participated in the Top of Utah Marathon, my third marathon. I have been running for years doing a “long run” every Saturday, these runs range anywhere from 13 to 21 miles long. So as you may have guessed I have experimented with plenty of energy gels. Due to the texture of gels I leaned more towards the chews that is until this marathon. Working at a running store I get to see all sorts of different products and hear how people feel about them. I had been curious about Roctane GU for some time and finally decided to gag it down and see what happened. I took a regular GU fifteen minutes before the start of the race and another regular

GU at mile 6. They did their job just fine but the real magic happened at mile 12 when I took my first ROCTANE. I went with the Pineapple because it was the only one without caffeine. By mile 14 I felt amazing! At mile 16 I started picking people off one by one, it felt pretty awesome!

At mile 18 I knew it was time for another GU, I picked threw my stash until I found another Roctane. My energy continued on. I think I actually started annoying people as I whizzed past them, usually by this point in the race I am tired and barely holding on but this one was different. I suppose I could have just been having a great running day but realistically I think it had to do with the Roctane.

I think this was my first race that I consumed enough calories to sustain my energy. I decided that GU Roctane gels work much better for me, I’m still not crazy about the consistency but I will just have to get past that. When I have used Chomps in the past I never ate enough of them, I would eat 1 maybe 2 on a good day. The serving size for Chomps is 4, NOT 1. With the gels I finished the pack and got the calories I needed. Plus, with the Roctane I got a lot of added nutrients.

This is what GU has to say about Roctane. “Roctane is GU to a higher power. It packs more of the stuff that makes GU so effective: more amino acids, more caffeine, more sodium, and more potassium. It even includes a new amino acid complex (OKG) that reduces muscle damage and speeds recovery.”

It has a blend of semi-essential and essential amino acids. Essential amino acids cannot be manufactured in the body or are manufactured in insufficient amounts. For this reason they must be obtained from our food supply. Histidine is considered a semi-essential amino acid because of its rate of synthesis. It cannot be manufactured by the body at a rate that will support growth.

Histidine slows lactic acid build-up.

Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine provide extra energy, reduce fatigue and aid in recovery.

Roctane has Citrates which speed the conversion of carbs into energy. It also has the amino acid Ornithine Apha-Ketoglutarate (OKG) which helps athletes go longer and it promotes speedy recovery, Roctane is the ONLY gel on the market that has OKG.

GU recommends that you use one Roctane 15 minutes before the race and then again every 45 minutes. I find it easier to go by miles because of the water stations. You always want to drink water (8-10 ounces) after having a GU to get the nutrients absorbed into your body faster and avoid gastrointestinal problems.

After my experience with Roctane I would highly recommend it to any athlete!!

By: Stephanie Anderson