Review: The Maurten Bicarb System

It has been known for years that consuming sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) can enhance performance during endurance activities. It works by removing and neutralizing hydrogen ions produced by the muscles during intense exercise, forestalling acidosis. However, there's a catch: Consuming straight baking soda followed by intense exercise causes stomach upset and vomiting in most people who try it. Now Maurten claims to have a product that solves that problem, by encapsulating the bicarb and releasing it slowly in the intestines, allowing you to get the benefits of bicarb without the gastric distress. I've seen a couple of pro athletes trying it out on their YouTube channels, so I thought I'd give it a try myself.

It's not cheap -- they only sell it in four-packs for $70. That's nearly $20 per use! But hey, if it gets you that PR you've been seeking then maybe it's worth it, right? So I ordered some via their website (you must customize your dose based on your weight and experience with the product). Then I tried it out on two separate runs -- a 5k time trial on local roads, and a 5k race in Spokane, WA. Here's what happened.

The Time Trial
Maurten says you should eat a meal 30 minutes to an hour before consuming the Bicarb System, which should in turn be consumed 90 minutes to 2 hours before the race / workout. Since it's starting to get warm here in Davidson, I wanted to do my run in the cool morning hours, starting my warm up at 5:45 am. That meant setting an alarm for 3:45 to consume some food, then 4:15 to consume the Bicarb System. I didn't eat a whole meal, just a 90-calorie granola bar. Then at 4:15 I got up and mixed up the Bicarb System. They give you a plastic bowl to mix up a hydrogel suspension. This seemed to me to be similar to Maurten's energy gels (but without the carbs), but Maurten says it is a different product. Then after a few minutes you mix in the bicarb capsules, which are hundreds of tiny pills. You have to eat them (and the hydrogel suspension) without chewing. If you're traveling, make sure to pack a spoon for this! Here's a photo of me eating them during my second test in Spokane: 

They taste about as good as they look

You don't exactly have to choke them down but it is definitely is a bit of a test of your desire to get a PR! I had a hard time getting back to sleep after consuming the bicarb capsules, so I wasn't sure how well my time trial would go. 

I would find out soon enough -- my final alarm awoke me at my usual 5:15 wakeup time and I hopped out of bed and rode my bike in to town for the workout. At 5:45 I was ready to start my 2-mile warmup. My stomach was definitely a little unsettled, even after sipping some water as I jogged along. I had to burp a couple times to relieve the gas pressure building up in my stomach, and I could definitely taste the bicarbonate making its way partly up my throat.

After my warm up, I lined up and started the time trial. I could tell almost instantly that it wasn't going to be a great run. I'm not sure if it just wasn't my day, if the sleep disruptions had negatively affected me, or if the bicarb simply wasn't agreeing with me. After 2 minutes I backed off the pace and decided to treat this run like a workout rather than a time trial. I ran 2 minutes hard / 1 minute jog until I finished the 3.1-mile course. I have to say that I did start to feel a little bit better toward the end of the workout, but it still wasn't a great workout. So maybe bicarb doesn't work well for me, or maybe it just wasn't a good day for me. On to test 2.

Test 2: The Windermere 5k in Spokane, WA
Two weeks later, I was in Spokane visiting family and decided to sign up for a race and give the Maurten Bicarb System another try. The race started at 8:15 am, so I was able to get up at 6:00 am, eat some food, and try the system again without disrupting my usual morning routine. I prepared the system just as I had before, then just stayed awake reading the day's news and doing the crossword puzzle before it was time to start my warm-up. I headed out at 7:45, jogging 2 miles to the race start for my warm up, with a couple bicarb burps along the way. 

I lined up for the race and zipped out at my planned 6:30 pace, which if I was able to sustain that, would give me an age-group PR. Fortunately there was another guy running that pace, so I could just stay on his heels for the first mile. At about that point I was really starting to suffer. The race was an out and back, so I told myself to just hang on until the turnaround, and then I could maybe rally as I was heading home. Unfortunately shortly after the turnaround, I lost contact with the runner ahead of me. My pace was slowing. My Mile 2 was a 6:46, and it was looking like Mile 3 was going to be worse. I struggled to maintain even a 7:00 pace for this mile, then limped in to the finish, a full minute slower than my goal time.

The Verdict
I don't think the Maurten Bicarb System helped me at all. Perhaps I just was having off days, but I also think the "ickiness" of the product just doesn't put me in a good mindset for racing. It also definitely put my stomach in an uncomfortable, gassy state before each hard effort. Compared to another recent innovation, the carbon-plated super shoe, I'd say it is a real dud. When I put on a shoe like the Hoka Rocket X (my current choice) or a Nike VaporFly, I immediately feel a significant boost compared to a daily trainer. The Maurten Bicarb System never gave me a sensation that even approximated that feeling. But products like these affect each of us in different ways -- the pro runners I saw using them on YouTube both had good performances after using the system. So if you are serious about getting a PR and seem to be stuck just below your goal, it might be worth it to you to spend $70 to test it out for yourself. Good luck!