In the first of a series of blogs about the companies who have very generously agreed to support and sponsor this year’s Miles for Wishes challenges, I talked to the team at Active Root to find out a bit more about them and their frankly brilliant product.
So who are Active Root?
Active Root is a start-up company based in Edinburgh who’ve develop an innovative, natural ginger based sports drink to fuel and hydrate runners, cyclists and amateurs like me.
Formed by Will and George whilst Will was training for the London Marathon and continually suffering from an upset stomach. He remembered his mum giving him ginger when he was young and it from there that Active Root was born.
Nutritionist Huw joined soon after and the three innovators began trials during the summer of 2015, testing the combination of ingredients and whether it would actually work in a sporting context – clearly, it did.
James joined in July 2017 to help expand the brand on social media and at sporting events – Active Root have been at the UK Reebok Spartan races and the Fox Trail Series among others.
Science born from experience
The guys at Active Root aren’t just science boffins but all experienced athletes, running for a local Edinburgh club HBT.
Last year Will cycled John O’ Groats to Land’s End, did an IronMan and the London Marathon so has all the kudos for 2017. James has run for Scotland a few times on the hills and is targeting the Long Classics this year whereas George is doing his first triathlon in 2018.
On being different
“We have 2 main ethos that we always consider when trying to market and evolve Active Root” James explained, “making sure the product is natural and prevents nausea, by using ginger. The first point about being natural is a trend being seen across the sports nutrition market with fewer brands wanting to use preservatives etc, however, ginger really is something that is unique to Active Root. We see so many athletes complaining about the sickness caused by using sports fuels such as gels so we are proving Active Root to be a viable alternative that is both preventing nausea and fuelling athletes naturally.”
The best challenge
Coming up with something new and innovative is never going to be but the rewards are huge. The favourite challenge of the Active Root journey? “Designing and having ownership of the product and how it looks” explained George. “It is stressful making the final decision on stuff like branding or even packaging but when you get it right and have the finished product in your hands it feels great, particularly when it helps the consumer as well.”
Who is Active Root designed for?
Currently, endurance athletes. Active Root helps settle your stomach so that you can continue powering throughout the event, where using the wrong fuels can lead to sickness preventing you from taking on foods. This becomes more important the longer the race is. Just looking at some of their ambassadors and their testimonials you can see they’ve had great success with ultra-distance athletes who’ve struggled with fuelling and it’s ruined their race, but by using Active Root they’re thriving.
The Active Root team hope to be THE product that people use to make sure they have a comfortable run, bike or swim without fear of feeling nauseous or bloated.
You’ll be seeing more and more ginger
Active Root are supporting two major events this summer – the Scottish Mountain Biking Cross Country Series and BAM events, which are 4 ultra races around the Glens of Scotland. On top of that you’ll find the brand popping up at a few OCRs, some expos including the London Marathon and the European Triathlon Championships in Glasgow.
Talking of expo’s, you may well have seen Active Root at the recent National Running Show and the Cycle Show London, I asked Will what kind of feedback they’d had, “Well, without trying to blow our own trumpet – we’ve been getting really good feedback at these shows. Athletes seems to get the idea of the product and how it could benefit them which is fantastic. A lot of people love the taste as well, which is always good!”
What makes Active Root such a good choice of product for these challenges?
Guy has been a keen Active Root Ambassador for a number of months now and we’re delighted to be sponsoring him. He seems to be mad with ideas for endurance events and Active Root hope to keep him fuelled, hydrated and his stomach balanced throughout.
A final, top tip for Guy?
“All the challenges are cool, unique and really, really tough. Make sure you give yourself time to reflect upon each one and what you’ve achieved afterwards.”
Find out more
Find out more about Active Root at www.activeroot.co.uk or follow them on social media
Instagram – @Active_Root
Twitter – @Active_Root
Guy Stapleford Ultra 