Team UCAN

How the Pros Fuel with UCAN

Olympic marathoners, Ironman champions and NFL quarterbacks train on UCAN and race on it. Below is who they are and exactly what they take on race day. Everything on this page ships from our Melbourne warehouse.

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How the Pros Fuel with UCAN

Five athletes, one fuelling system

They race different distances on different continents. They fuel the same way.

4 Olympic Games between them

2 Marathon Major titles, Boston and New York

7:59:40 Fastest Ironman World Championship ever run by an American

2:20:32 Third fastest marathon in U.S. women's history

Meet the athletes

Meb Keflezighi

4x U.S. Olympian Boston 2014 New York 2009 Olympic silver 2004 2:08:37

Meb is the only runner to have won New York, won Boston and taken an Olympic medal. Silver in Athens in 2004, New York in 2009, then Boston in 2014 at the age of 38, where he also ran his fastest marathon of 2:08:37. He brought UCAN into his routine in the build to that New York win and stayed on it for the rest of his career. The reason was always his stomach. Two hours at marathon pace leaves no margin for fuel that sits badly.

“You never feel the crash.”Meb Keflezighi, via ucan.co

After hard sessions he goes straight to a chocolate UCAN shake. Fuel it the same way with EDGE and Energy + Protein.

Sara Hall

2:20:32 marathon 2nd, London 2020 5th, 2022 World Championships 10 national titles

Hall ran 2:20:32 at The Marathon Project in December 2020, inside a minute of the American record as it stood, and the time still sits third on the U.S. all-time list. Eleven weeks earlier she had run down Ruth Chepngetich over the last hundred metres in London to take second in 2:22:01. At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene she was fifth and the first American home. She has raced the marathon on UCAN from the start.

“I’ve used UCAN my entire marathon career.”Sara Hall, via ucan.co

Marathon build: Energy Powder before, EDGE on the run, Energy + Protein after.

Dakotah Popehn

Paris 2024 Olympian 3rd, 2024 U.S. Trials Top American in Paris 2:24:20

Popehn was never a schoolgirl prodigy. She walked on at a Division II college and finished 36th at her first Olympic Trials. Four years later she was third in Orlando in 2:25:31 and on the plane to Paris, where she ran 12th on a course full of hills and came home first of the Americans. In 2025 she took her best down to 2:24:20 in Chicago. If you are chasing marginal gains rather than raw talent, she is the one to read.

“I love the steady energy I get with UCAN through my runs.”Dakotah Popehn, via ucan.co

Long run staple: one EDGE gel every 60 minutes. More in our guide to marathon fuelling.

Tim O’Donnell

2nd, 2019 Ironman World Championship 7:59:40 in Kona Long Distance World Champion 2009 50+ pro podiums

O’Donnell joined Team UCAN in April 2019. Six months later he went 7:59:40 in Kona for second behind Jan Frodeno, the fastest an American has ever covered the Ironman World Championship, and he did it by running 2:49:45 off the bike. Eight hours of racing is the hardest fuelling problem in endurance sport. He solved it on LIVSTEADY and Hydrate through training, race day and recovery.

“ran my fastest-ever marathon off the bike”Tim O’Donnell, via ucan.co

Long course kit: Energy Powder, EDGE and Hydrate. More in our guide to triathlon fuelling.

Alex Smith

No.1 overall pick, 2005 3x Pro Bowl 693 days out 2020 Comeback Player of the Year

Smith went first overall in the 2005 draft and made three Pro Bowls across sixteen seasons. In November 2018 he broke both bones in his right leg, the wound became infected, and the conversation moved from football to amputation. Seventeen operations later he walked back onto an NFL field, 693 days after he left it, went 5 and 1 as a starter and took Washington to a division title. He was voted Comeback Player of the Year with 49 of a possible 50 votes.

He is the outlier here. No marathon, no Ironman. What he shares with the other four is two years of rehab that demanded output on a schedule, and a preference for fuel that holds steady rather than arriving all at once.

“UCAN is everything sports drinks want to be.”Alex Smith, via ucan.co

Between sessions: Energy + Protein and Hydrate.

What the pros take, and when

The protocol does not change with the athlete. One serve before, one every 45 to 60 minutes during, one serve of protein after. What changes is the interval, and that depends on how hard you are going rather than how fast you are. The same timing underpins our guides to marathon fuelling and running.

Session	30 min before	During	After
Easy run under an hour	1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel	Nothing needed	1 serve Energy + Protein
Tempo or threshold run	1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel	1 EDGE gel every 45 to 60 min	1 serve Energy + Protein
Long run or marathon	1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel	1 EDGE gel every 60 min	1 serve Energy + Protein
Long ride	1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel	1 EDGE gel every 60 min	1 serve Energy + Protein
Bike intervals	1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel	1 EDGE gel every 45 min	1 serve Energy + Protein
Pool swim	1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel	1 serve every 60 min	1 serve Energy + Protein
Open water swim	1 serve, 30 to 45 min before the start	1 EDGE gel on the start line if the swim is over 80 min	1 serve Energy + Protein

Based on the UCAN fuelling guide. Practise the timing in training before you use it on race day.

One gel an hour is roughly half what a maltodextrin gel protocol asks for. Fewer sachets in the pocket, fewer things to remember at 32km, and nothing to get through your stomach in the last hour.

Common questions

What do UCAN athletes take before a race?

One serve of UCAN Energy Powder or one EDGE gel about 30 minutes before the start. Both use LIVSTEADY as the only carbohydrate.

How often do the pros take a gel during a long run?

One EDGE gel every 60 minutes on a long run or marathon. On tempo and threshold work the interval tightens to one every 45 to 60 minutes.

How much carbohydrate is in one UCAN EDGE gel?

19 to 20g of carbohydrate and 0g of sugar, with 50mg of sodium. EDGE + Electrolyte carries 20g of carbohydrate, 200mg of sodium and five electrolytes, also with 0g of sugar.

How is UCAN different from a standard energy gel?

Standard gels use fast carbohydrates such as maltodextrin and fructose. UCAN uses LIVSTEADY, a slow release carbohydrate, so a single gel covers a longer window and you carry fewer of them.

How many gels do I need for a marathon?

On the UCAN protocol of one gel per hour, a 3:30 marathon needs one serve before the start and three to four EDGE gels on the course. A 12 pack covers race day and the long runs in the build.

What do the pros use for recovery?

One serve of UCAN Energy + Protein, which carries 20g of protein and 15g of LIVSTEADY.

Can I buy the same UCAN products in Australia?

Yes. Generation UCAN Australia is the official Australian reseller. Stock is held in Dandenong South, Victoria and ships domestically, with free shipping on orders over $220.