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Most Australian endurance athletes know about carbs and electrolytes. Far fewer think about amino acids during a long session — and it’s often the missing piece.
In events lasting two hours or more, your body starts dipping into amino acids to keep the engine running. Top them up during the effort and you can feel steadier through the back end of a long ride, run or race. This guide covers what amino acids actually do for endurance athletes, why BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) get the most attention, and how to use them alongside electrolytes and a steady-release carbohydrate.
Walk into any servo or sports store in Australia and you’ll find shelves of sports drinks built around two ingredients: sugar and sodium. They cover hydration and a quick energy hit, but for sessions longer than 90 minutes they leave two gaps: the sugar drives the spike-and-crash cycle, and there are no amino acids in the formula. That’s fine for a 5km parkrun. It’s a different conversation when you’re looking at a half-Ironman, an UTA, a 100km gravel ride or a marathon build.
What Amino Acids Do for Endurance Athletes Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Of the 20 amino acids your body uses, nine are essential — meaning you have to get them from food or supplements. Three of the essential aminos — leucine, isoleucine and valine — are called branched-chain amino acids, or BCAAs. They’re the ones endurance athletes pay attention to, because they’re metabolised in the muscle rather than the liver, and your body draws on them during long aerobic efforts. The three BCAAs and what they do: Leucine is the most studied of the three, particularly for its role in muscle protein synthesis after exercise. Isoleucine contributes to glucose uptake into the muscle. Valine is involved in normal energy metabolism during prolonged effort. The takeaway: in sessions over 90 minutes to 2 hours, having a small steady supply of BCAAs alongside fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrate is part of a more complete fuelling strategy.
Amino acids on their own are useful. Amino acids paired with a slow-release carbohydrate are more useful — because the carbohydrate spares the BCAAs from being burned for fuel, leaving more available for their actual jobs.
UCAN’s signature carbohydrate is LIVSTEADY™, a low-glycaemic, slow-release carbohydrate originally researched in clinical nutrition contexts and adapted for sport. It digests gradually, supplying energy over 2–4 hours of activity rather than all at once.
The combination of BCAAs + LIVSTEADY + electrolytes is what makes Hydrate + Aminos different from a standard BCAA drink or a standard electrolyte tab.
Hydrate + Aminos is built for sessions over 90 minutes — long runs, big rides, half and full Ironman, ultras, multi-day adventure events.
Per serve:
(Verify all figures against the current Nutrition Information Panel before publishing.) Best for: athletes training over 90 minutes, anyone doing back-to-back long sessions, athletes who feel beaten up the day after long efforts.
Australian endurance events cover the full spectrum — Gold Coast Marathon humidity, UTA in the Blue Mountains, the Hottest 7 in Hobart, summer crits in Perth, multi-day gravel events in the Victorian high country. The longer and hotter the event, the more useful a sugar-free, amino-supported drink becomes: easier to drink in volume, won’t go sticky in soft flasks or bidons, and gives you something to fuel on beyond plain electrolytes.
I switched to UCAN Hydrate and I couldn’t believe the difference . No cramps at 30km and steady energy the whole run
Transition in 3 steps:
One serve of Hydrate + Aminos in 500ml of water. Topping up fluids, sodium and BCAAs before you start the session means your body isn’t playing catch-up from the first kilometre.
Sip steadily — most athletes work in a range of 500–750ml per hour in Australian heat. The BCAAs and slow-release carbs together support a steadier output across the back end of long sessions, where most fuelling problems show up.
Hydrate + Aminos works as a recovery drink alongside your normal post-session meal — fluids, electrolytes and BCAAs in one. Pair it with a protein source within an hour or two of finishing.
Shorter sessions (under 90 min): You probably don’t need aminos in-session. Standard UCAN Hydrate is the simpler choice.
The bottom line: A hydration strategy that combines electrolytes, amino acids, and steady-release carbs isn’t just smarter — it’s faster, stronger, and more sustainable.
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For sessions under 90 minutes, probably not. For sessions over 90 minutes — long runs, big rides, ultras, half/full Ironman — BCAAs alongside fluid, sodium and a steady-release carbohydrate can be a useful part of fuelling.
Standard Hydrate is a sugar-free electrolyte drink with LIVSTEADY carbs — built for shorter or moderate sessions. Hydrate + Aminos adds 2g of BCAAs per serve and is built for sessions over 90 minutes.
All three can work depending on the session. Before a long session, BCAAs alongside fluid and electrolytes mean you’re not starting from empty. During sessions over 90 minutes, sipping a BCAA-containing drink steadily helps maintain a small, ongoing supply across the effort. After training, BCAAs pair well with your normal recovery meal. For most endurance athletes, during the long session is where Hydrate + Aminos earns its place.
Yes. They’re built to work together. A common approach for long events: Hydrate + Aminos in the bottle for steady fluids, electrolytes and BCAAs across the session, plus Edge Energy Gels (with or without caffeine) at key points where you want a more concentrated carbohydrate hit — climbs, the back half of a marathon, or the run leg of a triathlon. UCAN Energy Powder can also be used pre-session if you want extra LIVSTEADY carbs without more fluid volume.
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