On The Run With Caffeine

How much, when, what kind, and so on; an article from Running Times online…

How to Boost Long-distance Performance with Caffeine

Advice for using caffeine to enhance race results

By Jackie Dikos, R.D.

As featured in the Web Only issue of Running Times Magazine

Powering through the final miles of a long-distance race can be a monumental task—although you’ve likely trained well to race hard to the line, it’s arduous for your brain to command your legs to maintain that speed and postpone reaction to exhaustion. Luckily, runners most everywhere have easy access to caffeine, a legal (World Anti-Doping Agency-approved since January 2004) stimulant that can increase performance in endurance athletes with proper implementation.

The benefit of caffeine in shorter distances is less significant than endurance events, but it does seem to have even mild ergogenic potential for events lasting more than one minute. Because caffeine can enhance alertness, runners who participate in shorter events may find the improved concentration useful in responding to the gun or getting out of start blocks. On the contrary, a fidgety response could contribute to a false start.  

Caffeine is absorbed quickly and reaches its highest blood concentration in about an hour, and this high concentration can be maintained for several hours. When taken an hour before a race, the ergogenic effect can last the duration of a 5K, 10K and even a marathon. To date, though, evidence supports that caffeine proves most useful for endurance events.

Reaction to caffeine differs according to the user—some feel they don’t respond to caffeine at all, while others suffer nausea, anxiety, tremors, headaches and even impaired performance after ingestion. Still, others find they’re more alert, energized, focused and experience a sense of ease in running effort. If you experience a negative reaction to caffeine during training, it’s obviously not a good choice for you during racing; however, if you’re able to tolerate caffeine, here are some tips on how to use it to your advantage.

Read on here.