Feeling Good and Moving Fast – Lessons in Fuelling

Almost a month ago, my partner Alex Parker ran the Calgary Marathon, the first and longest running marathon in Canada with the inaugural run occurring in 1963 with a competitive field of only 19 runners. Back then running was a pretty unusual pastime. Technical apparel was non-existent, running shoes were made of leather with completely flat soles, and the most popular approach to nutrition was a “tough it out” mentality where food and fluids were largely avoided during exercise.

Thankfully things are different now. The 2026 Calgary Marathon was Alex’s 10th marathon. She ran a personal best, finishing in 2 hours 55 minutes and 54 seconds. She’s fast. As I waited near the finish line with her coach, Sandra Yaworski – an experienced runner and leader in endurance sports, and her father, Garth Parker – also an experienced (and fast) marathon runner, we began talking about the recent performances in the London marathon where not one, but two runners ran the marathon in under two hours. The second-place time in London would have broken the world record had the first-place runner not already done so. Alex’s dad asked Sandra what she thought about the sub-2-hour runners and she reflected that she initially thought it wouldn’t be done in her lifetime. Garth then made the obvious and common connection and said, “It must be those shoes,” talking specifically about the rise in popularity of carbon plated super shoes that improve power return and economy. At almost the exact same time, Sandra and I said, “It’s the nutrition.” Which is not to negate the impact of super shoes, they are phenomenal tools for race day. But they don’t fully explain the breakthroughs in performance in running and they certainly don’t explain the breakthroughs in ultra-running, cycling, and basically every other endurance sport on the planet that are all happening somewhat concurrently.

And to keep this succinct, when people in the endurance space say nutrition what they are really saying is carbohydrates. In a nutshell, carbohydrates are the human body’s preferred energy source when our heart rates are up. They require the least amount of oxygen to metabolize into ATP and carbs are mobilized quickly when compared to fat which requires twice as much oxygen and is much slower to mobilize into usable energy.

Endurance athletes and recreational participants have always had a weird relationship with carbohydrates and some of that can be attributed to the bad science and advice that persisted from the early days of running. It was long believed that eating or drinking would have deleterious effects on performance and there was something bravado about not eating during a race or event, it was something people would brag about doing. The tough it out mentality is a hard one to break. But around 2019, things started to change. Without anything to confirm this, I believe that Eluid Kipchoge breaking the 2-hour barrier that very same year was pivotal in what was about to unfold in endurance sports. Not only did he run the marathon in under two hours, but he also provided a blueprint for how to do it including a very detailed look at his training and racing nutrition. If runners felt heroic by under-fuelling before, the image of Kipchoge running through the finish line tape in Vienna with arms outstretched and clock showing 01:59:40 just above his head completely flipped the script. The resistance towards consuming 90-120 grams of carbohydrates during a race evaporated.

What began to unfold was a confluence of advancements in sports nutrition, adoption of new fuelling protocols by elite and sub-elite athletes, and a high level of visibility driven by social media. Not only were athletes of all kinds eating more, but they were also making sure everyone knew about it. I think this normalization is super important not only for performance but also health. Under-fuelling in sport is a real problem, especially in young athletes who already battle social pressures related to eating and physical appearance, so the more athletes share about consuming calories, the better. 

Race day nutrition doesn’t explain the performance any more than the super shoes do. It’s important, of course, but the revelation wasn’t that carbs improved performance or fatigue resistance on a single day. The revelation was the longer-term adaptation that happens when athletes practice better fuelling in their training efforts. An athlete that fuels their training with the same purpose as their race days will break down less and recover better. This leads to better subsequent training sessions and greater adaptation over time.

In addition to the training adaptation, there is a less obvious impact on the central nervous system and our stress response when we fuel our efforts better. Carbohydrates are often demonized in modern nutrition but in general, they reduce cortisol and increase serotonin. In a nutshell they make us less stressed and happier. And this happens with white rice, not just nerd clusters. So individually when someone adopts a better fuelling strategy for their training, they will breakdown less, recover better, improve performance AND they will feel happier and less stressed while they do it which becomes a self-reinforcing scenario to continue training because it actually feels good to do.

And to this point, I have focused on elite athletes but there are some very real takeaways for recreational runners, bikers, hikers, paddlers, or anyone who exerts themselves for an extended amount of time. These same concepts apply to every body. Not everybody, every body. The physiological and genetic differences between Eluid Kipchoge and you and me round to 0. The mechanisms by which we store and use energy are pretty much the same. The summertime is when many of us start to spend many hours at a time outside doing our activities which also makes it a great time to put a little focus on fuelling yourself for those activities. Not only will you get to skip out on that weird bonky feeling that starts to creep in around two hours, you may also experience an enhanced level of enjoyment in an activity that you already really enjoy! Not to mention some Strava PB’s, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Sports nutrition products like gels, gummies, and waffles are great but you can keep it simple with dried dates, figs, maple syrup, white rice balls, or anything that has a high concentration of carbohydrates. It’s good to start with a target of 60 grams of carbs per hour of activity and work up from there. And don’t forget to give some attention to hydration and electrolytes when you’re out in the heat too!