Maurten Bicarb System

There have been studies of bicarbonate, but none of the maurten product specifically, that I could find anyway. Anecdotally, I felt like it made a big difference for me in the 800m, some in the mile, and maybe some in the 5000. I didn’t really feel like it helped in the one 10k I used it in, and it definitely messes with my stomach so I’ve been too nervous to try it in a half or a full. But supposedly Kiptum used it for the world record, so maybe it makes some difference at those distances as well. I know Cheptogei uses it for 5000 and 10000

Kiptum and Chep examples are correlation without causation. I've looked and haven't seen any evidence (much less credible claims) that bicarb would benefit 10K or marathon running.

"In conclusion, the ingestion of BICA showed no ergogenic effect on prolonged high-intensity running but enhanced maximal performance during graded testing."

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of sodium bicarbonate on prolonged running performance: A randomized, double-blind, cross-over study

The ability to sustain intense exercise seems to be partially limited by the body’s capability to counteract decreases in both intra- and extracellular pH. While the influence of an enhanced buffering capacity via sodium bica...

Link:www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5...

Might work for shorter efforts:

"Sodium bicarbonate supplementation acutely enhances peak anaerobic power, anaerobic capacity, performance in endurance events lasting ∼45 s to 8 min, muscle endurance, 2000-m rowing performance, and high-intensity intermittent running."

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of sodium bicarbonate supplementation on exercise performance: an umbrella review - PubMed

Based on meta-analyses of moderate to high quality, it can be concluded that sodium bicarbonate supplementation acutely enhances peak anaerobic power, anaerobic capacity, performance in endurance events lasting ∼45 s to 8 min...

Link:pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34794476/

There's also a recent study showing that the Maurten system does work to eliminate GI distress with sodium bicarb, but it makes no claims about its potential ergogenic effects.

And there's a bunch of research showing it works when users expect it to work—meaning it's an effective placebo.

It only works for people who believe that the human body produces lactic acid.

There have been legitimate studies tying sodium bicarbonate to performance. Try it out & see how your body handles it. There's also a brand called AMP that makes a gel/lotion you can just apply to your body.

From what I’ve heard is it’s super beneficial, but it hasn’t completely nulled the effects on the stomach. I know some people who have indeed sh!t themselves after taking it. But less so than just taking baking soda.

The amount that can actually be absorbed through your skin is so negligible, it's practically nothing. No company (including Maurten) has actually found a reliable way to get bicarb absorbed in such a way that it significantly benefits performance (at least to a degree that anyone cares). Pay Maurten's $$$ and try it yourself...maybe you'll get a placebo effect if you don't sh!t yourself first. Better luck with beet root, beta alanine etc.

How can it be super beneficial if the premise behind it is unscientific?

I’m a 1:46 800 runner and have tried this for the first time in nearly all my races this year. Although I thought it was working because I did notice significantly less pain in the last 200 of races, I always had this strange effect where my muscles basically stop working and cramp up/don’t contract as they historically would. Ie I used to have a kick but using this seems to get rid of it. Anyone else had this effect? Also noticed weird tingles in my hands after races having used it, wondering whether it’s making my blood too alkali or the sodium is messing up my electrolyte mix. Obviously it also makes the stomach suffer but that’s manageable