AID STATION INFO

If you are new to our world, our Aid Stations are very different from other endurance sports. For one, the volunteers working our aid stations will actually greet you in and serve you as you show up.  If you are in a hurry, let them know.  If you need a little mental boost, let them know and hang out for a minute.  Most of the aid stations at most of our events are sprinkled with seasoned veteran trail runners.  Many of them can probably see what you need better than you can tell them.  Their goal is not to coddle you, or let you waste too much time; rather to get your body to cooperate so it can follow your will to keep going until you reach your goal of the finish line.

Second, we provide mini-restaurants out in the woods for our ultra distance races.  You will find a much larger spread than most other types of endurance competitions.  Tejas Trails events are notorious for knocking this component out of the park.  More details below on the types of items you might find...

Warm Weather Events:

  • We'll always have fruit, salty items, sugary items, sweet items, water, ice, basic med kits, and the supplement nutrition items shown above.

  • Some examples would be: pretzels, chips, cookies, bars, pb&j sandwiches, fruit, candy, pickles, pickle juice, coke, ginger ale, mountain dew, water, Tailwind...
    *None of these items are guaranteed, and other items will likely get thrown in, but you get the idea.

Cold Weather Events:

  • At longer cold weather events, we'll have the same items listed above.

  • Additionally, we'll oftentimes have cooking stoves with soup, like Ramen and hot broth going to warm you from the inside. As well as coffee and hot chocolate.

  • Typically, aid station crews will also cook other hot food items. A few basic examples would be hot sandwiches, quesadillas, potatoes, breakfast tacos, bacon, burgers, brats, etc.

  • This gets pretty fun, and you never know what you might see, depending on how delirious the aid station crews become through the night...or have been since birth...all kinds of tasty concoctions show up beyond the usual fare.

Additional Notes:

  • We do have nuts at our aid stations.

  • We do not provide gluten-free, outright vegan, or special menu items. You can check with our staff onsite at each event if you need to know exactly what will be provided. Otherwise, it's up to you to take care of yourself if you have severe allergies and need special food and ingredient options.

  • We don't guarantee any of the aforementioned listed items to be at each event. Or at each aid station. It's just provided to give you an idea as to what we'll have.

  • You may see one thing at one aid station, and something different at another at the same event.

  • Sometimes certain types of foods or items run out, but we may let that happen because we have a different item that fulfills the same need for your body.

  • We are cupless for cold drinks. However, we do provide styrofoam cups for hot items. Those items must be consumed and disposed of at the aid station, no exceptions.

  • Cactus Rose is all unstaffed aid stations. i.e. we only provide ice and water, nothing else. You must place your own food, drinks, supplements, and other supplies at the aid stations yourself for this event.

Supplement Info:

Tailwind Nutrition Overview

What is Tailwind?
Tailwind is designed as a "complete fuel" containing a full complement of electrolytes and calories.

What is the concentration at the aid stations?
For the Tejas Trails Runs, Tailwind will be provided at a 200 calories/24oz of water solution. What this means is that if you fill up a 24oz water bottle with Tailwind, you'll get 200 calories in that bottle. In addition, you will also have the following amounts of electrolytes:

  • 606mg sodium

  • 176mg potassium

  • 52mg calcium

  • 28mg magnesium

Please be aware that Tailwind does contain much more sodium than your typical 15% that most sports drinks provide. For comparison, each S-Cap provides 341mg of sodium and 21mg of potassium, so Tailwind is equivalent to about 1.5 S-Caps.

Caffeine:
For the Caffeinated Raspberry Buzz & Caffeinated Green Tea Buzz, each 200 calorie serving contains 70mg of caffeine – so roughly a cup of black coffee.

What if the runner doesn’t want 200 calories?
The runner can always dilute the Tailwind by adding more water. If they want a 100 calorie bottle, for example, just fill ½ water ½ Tailwind. By doing this they will receive ½ the amount of electrolytes too.

What flavors are being provided?
Not all at every race or each aid station, but some combo of:
Mandarin Orange, Naked (Unflavored), Caffeinated Green Tea Buzz, Caffeinated Rasberry Buzz, 

How do we mix it?
Stations will be provided with bags of powder with the correct proportions for a 5 gallon cooler. Simply dump the bag in the cooler, fill to the 4.7 gallon mark and fill with ice to the 5 gallon mark. It is very important that you mix well so that the electrolytes don’t settle to the bottom. It will look mixed when you pour it in because it’s clear, but trust me it is not!

New Flavor:
The new flavor has little dark specs in it.  It’s part of it and will mix in clear.  Don’t worry, there aren’t little bugs in it…at least there weren’t when I packed them in the aid station rubbermaids.

Saltstick Overview:

(info from: http://saltstick.com/wordpress/faqs/)

Can I take more than 10 SaltStick Caps or 15 SaltStick Caps Plus per day?
The suggested limit for SaltStick Caps intake is ten (10) per day and SaltStick Caps Plus, 15 per day.
However, the intensity, duration, and/or heat associated with a particular activity may warrant the intake of additional SaltStick caps. Moreover, each athlete possesses unique personal and biological requirements for optimum electrolyte replacement. These factors, among others, should be carefully considered by the individual athlete in consultation with his/her physician to determine whether it is appropriate to exceed the suggested SaltStick cap intake.

NOTE—Suggested dosage is 1-2 SaltStick Caps per hour. Compare this with competing brands that often require 3-4 capsules per hour.

What is the proper use of SaltStick Capsules? When should I take SaltStick Caps?
The basic idea is to keep your supplementation simple and effective, so you have one less thing to worry about on race day, and you can focus on the athletic event rather than on surviving your nutrition plan. As a general guideline, athletes should consume one SaltStick capsule every 30-60 minutes or one SaltStick Caps Plus every 20-60 minutes during any land-based activity (bike/run) for the duration of the activity. Pre-loading with the product can be helpful as well, and including electrolytes in recovery nutrition can be important as well. For more details and suggestions, visit Salt Science.

Is it ok to take the capsules with a sport drink? How should I take SaltStick Caps?
SaltStick can be consumed in the most convenient method for you. You many take a capsule with water or a sports drink, or open the capsule up into your water or sports drink. Your body will still need re-hydration over time, so water or a sports drink should be a part of your overall nutrition plan. If you don’t re-hydrate and just take SaltStick Caps, you will then have excess electrolytes and be dehydrated, which can be a dangerous situation if taken to extremes. The key is to balance out your loss of both fluid and electrolytes and some combination of products will likely serve you best, and you’ll have to figure out what works for you personally.
For more ideas of how to use the product, visit SaltStick Usage Guide.

Do SaltStick products contain any WADA prohibited substances?
No. Every lot of SaltStick Caps is tested by an independent lab for WADA-prohibited substances. None of our competitors can say that. This is one of the reasons that countless professional athletes use SaltStick. Please read more information regarding prohibited substance testing at WADA drug testing of SaltStick capsules.

Are SaltStick products vegetarian? Vegan?
SaltStick Caps are vegetarian in that they do not contain any meat or meat products. The magnesium stearate and stearic acid used in small amounts in SaltStick Caps for the encapsulation process are derived from vegetable sources. The L-leucine in SaltStick Caps Plus is a purified amino acid originally derived from duck feathers. The vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) used in both products is a pure ingredient, originally derived from an animal source, and is the same material that our bodies synthesize in sunlight. Therefore both products are vegetarian in that they do not contain meat or processed animal parts but do contain ingredients of animal origin and are therefore not considered strictly vegan.

Are SaltStick products gluten-free? Lactose-free?
Yes, they are gluten-free and lactose-free. The capsule is made from the natural cellulose polymer “hypromellose” The contents also do not contain any wheat, corn, soy, milk, whey, nor egg products.

Are SaltStick products nut-free? shellfish-free?
SaltStick products are made in a facility that makes a variety of other products. The facility adheres to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) regulations that specify storage, equipment cleaning, and documentation standards, among other attributes. The facility does not process fish/shellfish/or nuts within the facility, however, ingredients sourced from fish such as fish oil & powder; shellfish such as glucosamine; and nuts such as walnut hull and almond oil are used within the facility for other products. However, the facility has allergen policy in place, and they do segregate these ingredients in the specified area. SaltStick products are not handled or produced within that area. If you have a severe allergy and despite this information, you should consider using the products under the supervision of a physician or with appropriate treatment (EpiPen, etc…) available if you have ongoing concerns.

Is there any sugar in SaltStick products?
No sugar, no high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), no sweeteners of any kind. SaltStick Caps and SaltStick Caps
Plus contain zero calories.

Are the products GMO-free?
Yes, the cellulose capsules are certified GMO-free. No other ingredients would fall under GMO or non-GMO origin.

Are SaltStick Caps Kosher?
No, there is no Kosher certification or supervision on the SaltStick products currently.

SaltStick Caps -- INGREDIENTS

Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 1 Capsule
Each Capsule Contains %DV

  • Sodium (as 550 mg sodium chloride) 215mg 9%

  • Potassium (as potassium citrate and potassium chloride) 63mg 2%

  • Calcium (as calcium citrate and calcium gluconate) 22mg 2%

  • Magnesium (as magnesium citrate and magnesium gluconate) 11mg 3%

  • Chloride (as sodium chloride, potassium chloride) 350mg 10%

  • Vitamin D3 100 IU 25%

  • Other Ingredients: Vegetable cellulose (capsules), vegetable magnesium stearate, vegetable stearic acid (flowing agents)

  • No gluten, soy, nuts. Vegetable capsule.

Crazy Water Overview:

We will provide the basic level of Crazy Water at our aid stations (which is similar to ‘regular’ bottled water), but very clean and impressively sourced right here in Texas.

From Crazy Water: Other waters might think we’re crazy, and we are.  And thanks to our high level of natural minerals, which are more readily absorbed by your body than synthetic minerals, Crazy Water can’t be beat.

And we’re not just water: we’re also a natural sports drink (without all those scary artificial flavors and sugars) which helps aide in rehydration and recovery. How’s that for a bottle of water?

  • Mineral Type (mg/l)

  • Calcium38

  • Magnesium17

  • Potassium1

  • Bicarbonate (HCO3)227

  • T. Alkalinity (CaCO3)186

  • Sulfate217

  • Fluoride.2

  • Sodium Chloride29

  • Manganese.08

  • Zinc.23

  • Silica10

  • Lithium.02

  • pH7.5

  • Dissolved Solids684