A freshman at Aberdeen High School in Harford County, Maryland, has successfully collected enough donations of Gatorade to keep every member of his cross country team hydrated at every practice and meet this fall, WBAL-TV (NBC affiliate) reports.
When Thomas Bunn III was at a team practice this summer, he had nothing but water to drink. “It’s just not enough,” he said. “So, I spoke with my parents, and I figured out a way to raise Gatorade.”
Some people have donated bottles of the sports drink, while others have donated money that Thomas used to buy Gatorade.
“We started actually giving them out last week,” the station quoted him as saying. “A lot of people started running to get the Gatorade the first day, and ever since then, it’s just been good.”
He said he hopes to raise some 10,000 bottles before he’s done. “It feels really good to me, and I feel like I’m actually making an impact,” he was quoted as saying.
The National Athletic Trainers Association, or NATA, recommends staying hydrated before, during, and after workouts. “Sports drinks ‘top off’ energy before training, supplement energy during training, and/or assist recovery after training,” the association writes in a handout entitled “Hydration Guidelines.”
