At the tail-end of 2022, after a few years of slowly getting back into running following a hamstring tear, I made the decision to switch over to the trails and do the thing for real – really trying to see where I could go in the sport.

At the very start of that journey, I discovered XACT Nutrition and quickly realized how much the products could help to supercharge my development in the sport, especially as an injury prone athlete. I have now been an ambassador for the brand for almost two years, and write this article as a way of shining the light on the brand that has most rapidly helped to accelerate my own development in the sport. This is partially a love letter, and partially an explanation as to why I use XACT over any other endurance nutrition brand.

TASTE & INGREDIENTS

Like most that have existed long enough in this space, I tried out many other products before XACT came along and started sponsoring Canada’s biggest races. XACT was not my first rodeo into sports endurance nutrition. But since discovering it, I haven’t needed to rely on anything else for so many reasons – one of which being the taste.

The main difference that I find between XACT products and others is in how it feels when you taste it.

It’s the same kind of difference between a really well-made piece of chocolate from a local store, to one that’s mass produced and given out on Halloween. The same difference you can find with a fresh out of the oven bakery bread, to Wonderbread. That’s the difference I notice when having an XACT fruit bar to many other products. Instead of a sugary paste, I’m tasting real fruit.

That’s because the ingredients are made with actual fruit pulps, something that our bodies have gotten used to digesting easily throughout the history of time. It’s hard to find another product on the market that doesn’t have maltodextrin, glucose, fructose, or cane sugar as the first ingredient on the list.

It already feels bad enough ingesting hundreds of grams of sugar to push the envelope in my sport. It’s easy and natural to feel like that’s not good for you. I even questioned XACT on this front in a Q&A one time, asking if it was unhealthy to do this. They assured me that it’s what the body needs when exercising and racing to the level that we do, especially in ensuring that the recovery from those efforts goes so much smoother. And I notice the difference too.

When doing 75-90g in 2023, I’d spend the entire rest of the day in bed after a 3-4 hour run. Pushing up to 90-110g in 2024, I wrote some of my very best articles following runs of the same length, and still had the capacity to go for walks, hang out with friends, and do the whole shebang over again the next day.

The fact that I’m then taking in that many carbs through fruit pulp and fruit extract just feels so much better than having it come from things that I know are actively so much worse for my body.

Add in the fact that the new apple flavour is literally the tastiest piece of sports endurance nutrition I have ever had. Blackcurrant was always my favourite before, particularly because of the taste combined with the boost in caffeine. But now that green apple’s come along, my shelves are going to be entirely green.

Part of the fun is however in tasting and enjoying all the different flavours. I always like to mix flavours in my training to keep it fresh and exciting, swapping between strawberry, orange, apricot and blackcurrant. Apple will definitely be the new one I’m heavily adding to the rotation now, as my unequivocal new favourite.

CARBS & CALCULATIONS

There’s a Gary Robbins quote somewhere deep in the archives of an FKT video where he cautions runners to avoid any kind of mental math when navigating the trails. Your brain is having to fire at such a high level in our sport, at the same time that your body works to keep itself alive. To then require your brain to do calculations would simply be a waste of energy.

Knowing that all the XACT fruit bars are 25g of carbohydrates, it’s super easy to remember how many I need to take when pushing up to any kind of number. I like to push the envelope and exceed 100g of carbohydrates an hour in training runs over 2 hours, or races over 20k. If I take three, I’ll be at 75g, and can top it off with something extra in my liquid, or I can push up to four an hour, and hydrate with the electrolyte tabs for the additional boost in sodium.

Many other products will have numbers like 23g or 21g that require a little extra mental math, not to mention less carbs and calories packed inside. When XACT tastes that good and always sits well on the stomach, I’m never concerned about pushing my numbers high.

Racing through a knee injury at Ultra-Trail Harricana last year, I even went up to 140g of carbohydrates in the final few hours, having only practiced around a maximum of 110-120g in training. I had no issues whatsoever, and my energy levels recovered right away.

The protein wafers are also the most delicious thing to have after a run, and never upset my stomach even if doing strength work or pilates after.

I’ve also been a fan of the lower content in sodium that the fruit bars have in comparison to other carb-heavy products on the market, as I can then more easily measure my sodium intake through liquid alone.

Again, if trying to reach certain numbers based on the science and data available for your specific body, it then requires more mental math if the products you’re taking for the sake of carbs also include a ton of sodium. This is the problem I had with many of the liquid carb options in the sport, and why I’m super excited for what XACT is developing next.

I was unknowingly taking too much sodium in some of my races last year, simply from trying to push my carbohydrate numbers up without having to use bars alone. Now that XACT is coming out with something that can go inside the liquid, I can recalibrate those numbers again and stay consistent, knowing that my carbohydrate intake through bars will not drastically change my sodium levels.

COMMUNITY / FAMILY FEEL

My favourite part about XACT Nutrition is how they’ve gotten around to all of the biggest races in Canada (even some in the States) and created ambassador teams that can continuously promote the products at races. This means that you’re always making new friends and new connections whenever you go to an event. I’ve always felt like family to the brand, and they do an exceptional job in treating their athletes and ambassadors right.

Having the opportunity to test products is cool and all, but it’s really the support from the brand that makes the biggest difference, and how much they’ve offered in showing their love, support and devotion to the athletes that use their products. Some of my favourite memories of 2024 were simply things that wouldn’t have happened without XACT’s support.

So once again I want to thank XACT for their support, and look forward to having all the apple fruit bars in town as I train for my races in 2025.

Thanks for reading and see you soon.