High school athletics is the “gateway drug” for many athletes. It’s the first real organized team that may compete all the way to a state or national level, the first time to travel any real distance to compete, and the first time winning or losing seems to have any consequence beyond the end-of-season awards ceremony. For Clare Gallagher, it was certainly the beginning to much greater journey. She grew up in a sport few of us are geographically situated to enjoy on a regular basis—downhill skiing. While her love of those Colorado mountains is as deep today as it was then, her primary sport is endurance running, tackling as many ultras as she can fit into her schedule.
Clare ran cross country in high school. That was enough to instill a lifelong love of running. She went on to run cross country, indoor, and outdoor track at Princeton where cross-country and steeplechase were her favorite events. While at Princeton, Clare’s favorite race was the cross country Ivy League Championship, a heptathlon. However, it wasn’t until leaving college and while living in Thailand that she discovered her true love: ultramarathons. She ran 50 miles through northern Thailand’s hill tribes, pushing her body like never before while also taking in scenery and culture she’d never experienced before.
Last year, Clare’s father introduced her to another sport—skimo, or ski mountaineering races. The sport not only let Clare spend some quality time her with dad, but also gave her one more way to connect to her Colorado mountains. Clare is enthusiastic about competing and the environment, so skimo seemed a perfect way to experience both in a new way. There was, however, one unwelcome feature in this new pursuit: Clare began to experience muscle cramps. At first she thought it may be the gear she was using, but the pain was intermittent and adjustments to her boots didn’t seem to help. While the cramps weren’t enough to sideline her, they certainly made it difficult to give 100% during races and for Clare, nothing else will do. Fortunately, it wasn’t long into her first skimo season that she discovered our codenamed product, #ITSTHENERVE.
“I found practically instant relief every time I drink the product, and I can prevent feet cramps if I drink #ITSTHENERVE prior to skiing.”
While they were less intense, and she’d been dealing with them for so long with little problem, Clare also experienced muscle cramps in her torso and collarbone area while running. It turns out #ITSTHENERVE prevented these cramps as well!
Clare says training and competing with #ITSTHENERVE, and without cramps, has made her a more accountable runner—now, she can take cramps out of the equation when things don’t go as planned and adjust her nutrition or training regimen to improve her performance.
Tell us what cramp-free training would mean for you—reaching more finish lines? Shaving seconds or minutes off of your finish times? Share your story below in the comments, and find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up-to-date with all things #ITSTHENERVE.
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