A comment on my "So you had a crappy race" post said that he was cramping severely at the end of the marathon and a woman handed him two Rolaids to chew and said they'd take care of his cramps. And...according to the poster...it worked.

I asked a friend at the hospital to see if she could track down an answer from an M.D. as to whether it really works, if it was a placebo affect or whatever.

Here's what she said:

The Active ingredients in Rolaids are Calcium carbonate (550 mg) and Magnesium hydroxide (110 mg). The inactive ingredients are Dextrose, Flavoring, Magnesium stearate, Polyethylene glycol, Pregelatinized starch, and Sucrose.

Calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate are salts. The cramping was probably b/c he was salt-depleted from sweating a ton.

She promised to send more info. later...when she does, I'll post here!