The Performance Bene ts

THE PERFORMANCE BENEFITS OF CAFFEINE

Forget the coffee-fixated hipster image; science says caffeine can really work for runners.

TWO-TIME OLYMPIAN AND 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden drinks three to four cups of coffee each day. “I’m a huge coffee fan,” Linden says (which should come as no surprise, since she and her husband own a coffee company: Linden x Two). “I have two cups first thing in the morning, and it’s beneficial in getting all systems – mind and body – up and running before I head out the door for my first run,” she adds.

Many of us (elite and non-elite) use caffeine to our benefit, as research has shown that in addition to perking you up, it can also make you faster and help you focus during your workouts. But as with any other performance food or drink, education is key to achieving maximum benefits; so we tapped experts and the latest research to tell you everything you need to know about your favourite energiser.

The benefits of caffeine for performance

Unless you have a sensitivity, caffeine can be highly beneficial for most people, according to Todd Buckingham, PhD, exercise physiologist at Mary Free Bed Sports Rehabilitation Performance Lab.

“[It’s] shown to increase mental alertness and concentration and improve athletic performance by increasing time to exhaustion, so I often do recommend caffeine to my runner clients, as long as they tolerate it well,” says Angie Asche, sports dietician and owner of Eleat Sports Nutrition.

In fact, a study dating back to the early ’90s found that taking in about 150 to 200 milligrams (mg) of caffeine from coffee one hour before exercise improved 1 500-metre performance in well-trained runners. More recently, another study reported a 24-second (or 1.2 per cent) improvement in an 8K run time by well-trained male runners when ingesting 3mg of caffeine per kilogram of body mass one hour before racing.

The overall favourable results of caffeine for running performance have caused many organisations to advocate its use in sport: the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that caffeine reduces perception of fatigue among athletes and allows exercise to be sustained at

optimal intensity for longer periods of time; the International Society of Sports Nutrition suggests that ultramarathoners ingest caffeine in the latter stages of endurance exercise to maintain energy levels; and the European Food Safety Authority says single doses of caffeine up to 200mg from all sources are perfectly safe when consumed less than two hours before intense physical exercise.

What’s more, a 2021 position statement published by the International Society of Sports Nutrition states the following: • Small to moderate benefits of caffeine use include, but are not limited to: muscular endurance, movement velocity and muscular strength, sprinting, jumping, and throwing performance, as well as a wide range of aerobic and anaerobic sport-specific actions. • Aerobic endurance appears to be the form of exercise with the most consistent moderate- to-large benefits from caffeine use. • Caffeine has consistently been shown to improve exercise performance when consumed in doses of 3mg to 6mg per kg of body mass. • Caffeine appears to improve physical performance in both trained and untrained individuals. • The most commonly used timing of caffeine supplementation is 60 minutes pre-exercise. Optimal timing of caffeine ingestion probably depends on the source of caffeine.

All in all, caffeine consumption seems to have positive effects for most people. That said, not everyone needs caffeine or responds well to it. Buckingham notes that caffeine may agitate some people, and that if you’re not already a caffeine user, starting it now may make you feel nervous or jittery.

“Prior to a race, your body is already in a heightened state of arousal, so your epinephrine (or adrenaline) level is already high,” he says. “Consuming caffeine on top of that increases the severity of the stressed state, could overstimulate you, and could cause feelings of anxiousness, fear, panic, and eventually, physical exhaustion.” In these cases, it’s best to avoid caffeine altogether, or opt for options with less caffeine such as tea.

How much caffeine should you consume?

Typically, the recommendation is to take in 3mg to 6mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight about 60 minutes before exercising, according to Lizzie Kasparek, a registered dietician for ProHealth Care. For a 63kg person, that’s at least 190mg 60 minutes before running. For an 82kg person, that’s 245mg 60 minutes before running.

To put that into perspective, on average a cup of home-brewed coffee has about 100mg of caffeine. While it’s generally safe to consume up to 400mg of caffeine per day, Asche says the amount of caffeine a person should take in depends on the person, their health status, and whether they are already consuming caffeine regularly.

“If someone is experiencing negative side effects – such as anxiety and jitters, rapid heart rate, digestive issues, or decreased sleep quality – it would be beneficial for them to evaluate how much they’re taking in and what time they’re taking in that caffeine,” Asche says.

In addition, there has been some emerging research hoping to identify genetic variations in how different people handle caffeine. There are even companies such as InsideTracker that will test your DNA to see how quickly you will metabolise caffeine.

Race-day caffeine strategies

Experts agree that there are two things a runner should consider when consuming caffeine before a race: timing, and the source.

“Prior to exercise, caffeine takes about 10 minutes to enter the bloodstream and typically peaks after 45 to 75 minutes post-ingestion,” says Buckingham.

Asche adds that her clients prefer coffee 45 to 60 minutes before a race, followed by gels or gummies. “It’s so important for runners to take the time to test these different sources out during training runs, to really pinpoint what they tolerate best and what they prefer most when it comes to race day,” says Asche.

As for Linden, she sticks with two cups of coffee at some point before events. During the second half of the marathon, she adds in PowerBar PowerGel Hydro with 50mg of caffeine around the 25K mark and beyond, because “it’s that difficult part in the race, and caffeine keeps the mind engaged and aware that there's still fuel in the body to use.”

Even after a race, Linden sips coffee or espresso to get ready for post-race get-togethers with friends and family later in the day.

“I believe it’s important to celebrate completing a race no matter what the results are, and the caffeine keeps me from bailing on my friends because I’m too tired,” she says.

THE BEST SOURCES OF CAFFEINE

There are many natural sources of caffeine, as well as sports nutrition products with added caffeine. Finding the source that’s right for you might take some trial and error. Here, some common caffeine sources to try. 1 / Wild Air

Cold Face

Beans or ground coffee, R130/250g 2 / Nuun

Sport + Caffeine Tablets,

R120 for a tube of 10 3 / Lindt

90% Cocoa Chocolate

100g R59.99 4 / Biogen

Edge Pure Caffeine 60

Caps, 100mg per capsule, R139.95