Kilian Jornet signs with Maurten as nutrition sponsor

After years without a nutrition sponsor, ultrarunner Kilian Jornet has signed with Maurten. Jornet joins a star-studded lineup of Maurten-sponsored athletes including Eliud Kipchoge, Joyciline Jepkosgei and Geoffrey Kamworor. Jornet announced his newest partnership on Twitter on Friday, stating that he hasn’t had a nutrition sponsor for so long “because I simply haven’t found anything that worked flawlessly for me.” That changed last year, when Jornet says he tried Maurten in a few races. “I didn’t know what to expect but it felt different,” he wrote. “It worked really well.”

For years I haven’t had a nutritional sponsor, because I simply haven’t found anything that worked flawlessly for me.

Last year I tried @maurten_official during my races. I didn’t know what to expect but it felt different. It worked really well.

— kilian jornet (@kilianj) May 15, 2020

What is Maurten?

Maurten is a Swedish nutrition company that claims to work better for endurance athletes than any other product on the market. What separates this company from the rest, Maurten says, is its products’ ability to provide athletes with enough nutrients and carbohydrates without causing gastrointestinal (GI) issues and distress.

RELATED: Does Maurten really work?

When it comes to carbs in racing or training, the general suggestion for endurance athletes is to take in 90 grams of dual-source carbs (carbs with both glucose and fructose) every hour. This is a lot, though, and studies have shown that GI issues arise for many athletes after consuming more than 60 grams per hour. Maurten uses pectin and sodium alginate, which the company says minimize GI symptoms by working with the stomach’s natural acid to optimize absorption.

Find one of Birhanu's or Kenenisa's signed @MaurtenOfficial bottles in Berlin tomorrow, take a picture and tag us and we'll send you a Maurten giftbag! pic.twitter.com/Nr4SRk30HH

— NN Running Team (@NNRunningTeam) September 28, 2019

While the company hasn’t backed up these claims with their own research, independent studies have been done to see just how well Maurten actually works. As it turns out, it seems to be somewhat less effective than the company says it is, although with the results its athletes produce (like a sub-two-hour marathon) and positive anecdotal results, we have to imagine it has at least some beneficial properties.

RELATED: Kipchoge’s “drinks guy” from the Berlin Marathon gains Internet fame

Jornet’s resume

Jornet is a man of many hats, including mountaineer and ultrarunner. He is the Everest speed ascent record-holder, an Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc champion and the winner of dozens of other trail and ultra races around the world. Jornet has been a dominant force on the ultrarunning scene for many years, and that was without a nutrition sponsor. It will be interesting to see how his relationship with Maurten affects his running.