It’s not that often that two Osmo athletes find themselves at the same start line in the remote wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, but Blake Wageman and Mark Marzen did just that - and landed in the top 10 finishers at the Tillamook Burn 50 mile race!
Both fueled and hydrated by Osmo, Blake and Mark reflect on their strategies for the race below, and remind us that getting out there is “truly nourishing to the body and soul.”
From Blake:
“Tillamook Burn 50 miler is the most beautiful race I've ever run - I highly recommend it. I went out knowing I wanted to be competitive and knew that prioritizing my fueling was the only way to stay aggressive. Thanks to my husband, we had an awesome fueling plan, getting me A LOT of calories and carbs worth of Osmo, gels, and fig newtons over the 8.5 hours (I have the math in case anyone wants to know what "a lot" means 🙂) . I swapped Osmo and plain water every 7-9 miles. Each bottle of Osmo had a different flavor of electrolytes (which was a great mix-up) and 2 scoops of Power Fuel in it, which was the perfect way to sneak in more calories while I sipped on gels and nibbled on fig newtons.
I had zero GI issues and aside from some miles through the middle where I accidentally let myself go on autopilot, I felt very strong throughout and am proud of a good effort. You might be able to outrun me, but it's very unlikely you'll out-fuel me. 😉”
From Mark:
“Tillamook Burn 50miler was a challenging and exciting day of running through the beautiful and big mountains of Oregon. While I normally live in Colorado, I was back in Pennsylvania all winter helping family, which meant long sessions on treadmills and creative connections of trails to gear up for the close to 10,000ft of elevation gain. This being my first true mountain race of the season, and unsure how my Pennsylvania training would transfer, I knew it was going to be important to be ahead of my hydration and nutrition from the start.
I sipped on water and Osmo hydration mix in the days leading up to the race. On race day, I refilled my water bottle at every aid station with water and a single serve Osmo packet I carried with me along the way. With the perfect small sizing of the single serves, I was able to fit all I needed in a simple race belt. With the help of a little extra Osmo at aid stations from friends, I never bonked, and gritted out some challenging long climbs.
The Osmo hydration mix was essential to a fun day of racing in the stunning forest of the Northwest. Truly nourishing to the body and soul. Couldn’t ask for more!”
Congrats, Mark and Blake!
