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Lead Stories: Friday, July 18, 2008

TFS Review: CLIF Bar

Posted May 26th, 2007 at 12:36 PM by Paul Petersen

Section: Nutrition, Product Reviews, Vegetarianism, Special Features, TFS Reviews

Product: CLIF Bar
Price: Retail $1.39 to $1.69 each, $15 for a box of 12
Rating: Excellent 8.8/10.0
Pros: Enjoyable taste, inexpensive, easy to digest, many flavor varieties, vegan/vegetarian friendly, 70% organic ingredients
Cons: Texture is not immediately appealing
Overall: CLIF Bars offer the best bang for your buck in the world of energy bars. Not only is the taste tolerable, but most flavors are actually very good, although like many bars it suffers from a peculiar texture. CLIF Bars are great to consume before and after races and workouts, with few digestion problems. In addition, they contain no animal products, and are filled with soy protein and carbohydrates.

I remember my first experience with energy bars, well over 10 years ago. I recall being somewhat curious and even a little excited about this new concept. I thought to myself, Will it boost my performance? Will it give me boundless energy?

My eager optimism crashed as soon as I began it to eat it. I managed to scarf down the dense, chewy mass, and proceeded to get a gut bomb that lasted the duration of my run. In the early days, some of those bars were terrible!

Then I discovered CLIF Bar. Conceived as an idea in 1986, debuted in 1992, and incorporated in 1997, CLIF Bar has chewed its way to the top as a leading maker of energy bars.

It is now ubiquitous in bike shops, grocery stores, and race goodie bags. Along with its rich history, CLIF Bar upholds many environmental, health, and social ideals via its philosophy and operations, and also through support of numerous outside organizations.
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Six “running-centric” strides to help the environment

Posted March 12th, 2007 at 10:30 AM by Paul Petersen

Section: Columns, SPOTLIGHT

Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” was a powerful and enlightening documentary. While viewing it in the theater last year, I was inspired by the tips that rolled during the ending credits on how to take action and make a positive environmental impact. As the movie’s website phrases it:

“You have the power to make a difference. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big changes in helping to stop global warming.”

This statement both challenged and motivated me. Changes need to come from both the top-down and the bottom-up. It’s not just national and state governments’ responsibility to fix problems, but also my own! Personal responsibility is a powerful concept in the workplace, in our relationships, and yes, in the environment.

While there are many methods for making a positive difference in the environment through day-to-day living, my “running-centric” view of life leads me to relate everything to running. So I pondered the question, what can I do as a runner to aid the environment in which I live and play? Below are some of the ideas I came up with …
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TFS’s Top Picks of 2006 Nutritional Supplements

Posted December 22nd, 2006 at 9:11 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Announcements, Running & Training, Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Hydration, Supplements, Product Reviews, Special Features, Health & Fitness, TFS Reviews, TFS Top Picks

The Final Sprint, through an exhaustive process of product reviews and a comparison of empirical data, has determined the best nutritional products to help fuel and replenish your bodies.