Track Coach Ashley Mortenson, a former All-American runner that still competes in regional marathons, prides herself on being a role model for her students and athletes. She passes on the information she has learned about training to her athletes, including the value of drinking chocolate milk as a recovery beverage. Ashley first learned about the benefits of recovering with chocolate milk from her college track coach, who had also advised Olympians to refuel with chocolate milk. Ashley said her coach was always at the front-end of research and once he came across the recovery benefits of chocolate milk, he brought chocolate milk gallons to each practice and game.
Now, Ashley is passing on this knowledge to her own students and athletes. Ashley said, "the natural balance of carbohydrates and proteins in chocolate milk is better than expensive post-workout recovery drinks. I work to try and work against the Powerade and Gatorade culture." Ashley encourages both her students and their parents to bring chocolate milk and other nutritious foods for their post-workout regimen.
Ashley tells her students chocolate milk is advantageous to other drinks for several. First, chocolate milk is accessible. Ashley loves that you can get chocolate milk anywhere, unlike many recovery beverages that require specialty markets. Also, because chocolate milk is so easy to find, it's also easy to keep it as part of your post-workout regimen throughout the years. And finally, Ashley tells her students to drink chocolate milk simply because it tastes good!
