Nutritionist Explains How Carbohydrates Boosted Marathon Runner's Performance

It is no coincidence that “one of the best fuellers marathon running has seen” recently became the first person to break the fabled two-hour barrier for the 42.195km (26.2-mile) distance.

Sabastian Sawe consumed 230 grams of carbohydrates during the one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds it took him to complete the London Marathon in April.

That he was followed home just 11 seconds later by Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia further underlined that “the doors have been opened” to a speedier era of elite marathoning, according to the nutritional mastermind behind Sawe’s world-record run.

Josh Rowe, head of sports technology for Maurten, the brand that devised Sawe’s fuelling plan for his London charge, estimates that ingesting a prescribed amount of carbohydrates can boost performance by 6-8 per cent, whether you are hunting major victories or targeting 3:45:00 at next year’s Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon (SCHKM).

“Nutrition gets lost amid talk around shoe technology, but shoes can increase your running economy by 4 per cent,” Rowe said.

In the 12 months before Sawe’s landmark run, Rowe and his colleagues spent 32 days, across six visits, at the runner’s camp in his native Kenya.