At Challenge Family, we pride ourselves on providing a world-class athlete experience. From the first pro to the final finisher, every athlete deserves the support they need to reach that finish line. To ensure our resources are shared fairly across the entire field, we are introducing a new measure: targeted nutrition checks during our races.

In recent times, we have noticed an increasing trend of athletes taking excessive amounts of gels at aid stations—sometimes far beyond what is needed for the race itself. This doesn’t just impact costs; it directly affects your fellow athletes who may find the stations depleted later in the day. To keep the race fair for everyone, we are stepping up our oversight.

How it Works: The “Nutrition Customs”

Starting immediately, additional check-points will be positioned just past our aid stations. Think of it like airport customs:

• The “Nothing to Declare” Lane: For athletes carrying a standard, reasonable amount of nutrition.
• The “Something to Declare” Lane: For those carrying a larger supply of gels.

Our dedicated race officials will be there to monitor and, if necessary, intervene. We aren’t looking to set a rigid “maximum” just yet, but we want to understand the reasoning behind taking large quantities.

“We want to avoid a situation where dozens of gels are taken for reasons other than race-day fueling. If an athlete has a solid nutritional strategy that requires extra gels, that’s perfectly fine – we just want to ensure the supply remains available for everyone.” — Richard Belderok, CTO Challenge Family

First Look: Challenge Mogán-Gran Canaria

The new system will debut on April 18th at Challenge Mogán-Gran Canaria. This first event will serve as a pilot to see how the rule works in practice and how we can make the process as organic as possible for you, the athletes.

Challenge Family believes in the strength of its community. By ensuring everyone takes only what they need, we make sure no one is left running on empty. Not quite sure exactly how much nutrition you actually need? Together with our Nutrition Partners Powerbar and Red Bull, we have a handy Nutrition Guide, which contains a lot of information to help you on your way. You can find the Nutrition Guide here.