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PreRace 2.0
For years, First Endurance had PreRace in capsule and powder form. The formula was well-loved, but advancements in sports nutrition research opened new vistas for using a streamlined new formula with each ingredient clinically studied for performance benefits.
The new PreRace provides multiple, complementary benefits for long-duration, intense endurance exercise and recovery, pushing every crucial button for mental and physical performance. As always, we’re not just guessing or puffing a product up with marketing hyperbole – the formula is built on a comprehensive review of scientific literature, clinical research, and our know-how from real-life field testing.
As for the new formula’s actives, caffeine, theobromine (a cacao polyphenol extract), and taurine remain, with two new additions: the vasodilator Nitrosigine® and VitaCherry® Sport. In the coming weeks, we’ll publish a deep dive into each of PreRace’s primary actives; however, for now, here is the thought process behind the new PreRace, an overview of the important components, and a guide for how to get the most out of the new formula.
IT’S IN THE NAME
PreRace is designed to do exactly what its name suggests – enhance and improve performance by using before a long-duration race, event, or strenuous activity. PreRace is an additive, designed to complement and synergize with EFS, EFS-PRO, and Liquid Shots, activating your body and mind to utilize those essentials maximally.
We stuck to our mantra of science-based formulas by looking at everything that has a chance to safely improve performance. As hinted at in the introduction, there was a lot of science to examine and, even better, a lot of ingredients made available specifically for improving endurance exercise performance. For the new PreRace, we assembled the best of the best ingredients that are shown by human studies to individually improve performance. The following table lists some of the criteria for inclusion.
FIRST ENDURANCE PRERACE INGREDIENT CRITERIA
| Efficacy = Dose-Response | Use clinically studied doses that exhibited improvement of endurance exercise performance in published human clinical studies – no “fairy-dusting” or “window dressing” |
| Safety | Look critically at overall health benefits and weed out iffy or potentially unhealthy ingredients (nitrites/nitrates, for example – Nitrosigine® is nitrate-free) |
| Dose Size | Effective doses need to be small enough to combine into a convenient single serving of ~5 grams per serving |
| Availability | From reputable suppliers that will not run out, disappear, or change quality |
| Cost | Cost/benefit ratio was weighted towards performance and getting the most bang for your buck |
| Multitasking | Ingredients that can take care of more than just contracting muscles longer, stronger, and faster; that complement EFS, EFS-PRO, and Liquid Shot; that improve muscular, mental, metabolic, digestive, and immune system functions |
| Convenience = Taste & Mixability | We settled on the preferred powder format, to be able to mix it easily EFS & EFS-PRO |
| Complementary | In any multi-component nutritional mixture, care needs to be taken to make sure they all play well together – without counteracting each other. The ingredients used were carefully chosen to work in many different ways that are compatible to maximize your exercise performance and recovery. |
PRERACE 2.0 FORMULA BREAKDOWN
Using the above criteria, we considered dozens of ingredients, compounds, and mixtures. Here is the best of the best.
Serving Size 1 scoop (4.9g)
| Taurine | 2000mg |
| Inositol-Stabilized Arginine Silicate (Nitrosigine®) | 1500mg |
| VitaCherry® Sport (Prunus cerasus var. Montmorency)(fruit) | 500mg |
| Cacao Extract (Theobroma cacao)(seed)(minimum 6% theobromine) | 500mg |
| Caffeine Anhydrous | 200mg |
Caffeine
Caffeine is self-explanatory. It is the premier non-nutritive exercise performance enhancer, bar none. We chose a 200mg dose (about 3mg/kg) to match the amount needed to reproducibly improve both mental and physical exercise performance without overdoing it. This dose works as well as higher doses without unwanted side effects. We are careful with caffeine because it is powerful – follow the directions for use and you’ll be energized sufficiently.
Taurine
Taurine is the sleeper nutrient in PreRace. It’s the most essential nutrient in your body nobody cares about – a veritable Swiss Army Knife for physiological multitasking. Taurine is absolutely essential for boring functions like osmoregulation, cellular hydration, thermoregulation, intracellular redox status, and having antioxidant functions without being an antioxidant. There is much, much more to taurine than just being a simple beta-aminosulfonic acid. Taurine and caffeine are common in “energy” drinks, but we use doses effective for improving long-duration exercise performance and recovery.
Nitrosigine®
Nitric Oxide (NO) is here to stay for improving endurance performance, and its efficacy as a vasodilator is well-supported in the scientific literature. We settled on a patented, well-studied, nitrate-free version of stabilized arginine that targets on-demand NO production and that has human studies showing improved endurance performance and recovery at the dose in PreRace.
VitaCherry® Sport
Another proprietary branded ingredient, from the leading dried fruit company in the US (VDF Futureceuticals). VitaCherry® is rich in anthocyanins – the dark-colored, water-soluble, polyphenol antioxidants that actually get absorbed well (unlike other dietary polyphenols like quercetin and curcumin). Again, this particular ingredient from US-grown Montmorency cherries was chosen for its highly successful performance in human studies, where it showed improved endurance performance. If you want to increase your race pace 12% and take 5 minutes off a half-marathon time, then this is the right ingredient for you. Combined with reducing exercise-related pain and inflammation and improving recovery, VitaCherry® Sport adds another dimension to PreRace.
Theobromine
Caffeine’s sibling, theobromine, is what makes chocolate so desirable for humans. We use a standardized cacao extract to deliver a psychoactive amount of theobromine, which extends the effects of caffeine and also provides its own mental benefits for exercise performance. And like caffeine, theobromine has its own benefits for circulation. This was also in the original PreRace, called Metabromine.
DIRECTIONS FOR USE
Take one scoop ~30 minutes before exercise. For best results, mix it with a serving of EFS or EFS-PRO. Because of the pharmacokinetics of the ingredients, a second dose can be used after 2-3 hours of extreme exercise. While it mixes well with water, PreRace complements EFS and EFS-PRO, including by promoting magnesium absorption and general cell hydration, so we can’t recommend that pairing strongly enough.
