Is your body a temple?
Let's take a moment to think about the fuel, hydration, supplements, and enhancements that we put into our bodies.
Ruth Chepntg’etich won the Chicago Marathon with a world-record-breaking 2:09:56, breaking the 2:10 mark for the first time
The very nature of world records means they are made to be broken, but there is a study that has found the limit of how fast a human can run a marathon is somewhere around 1:58. That accepts that a sub-2hr marathon is certainly coming, with the prediction that there is a 1 in 4 chance that it’ll happen by March 2027. There’s been a 1 in 10 chance that it could happen since November 2018.
There’s also been an overwhelming (and unsavory?) commentary on how Ruth Chepntg’etich got so fast. Only four MEN have run faster than her in 2024. The age-old comparison. It’s reasonable to admit that by running sub-5min-miles for 26 miles she’s fast for a woman (I’ve driven through Los Angeles slower than that), but how did she do it?
Super shoes? Sure, but the previous two-minute-slower world record was also run in super shoes. Diet? Supplement? Nah. Drugs? Maybe. In a sport with such a storied history of cheating, there will always be the suspicion.
Could drugs help a human of whatever gender run a 1:50 marathon? Maybe. If we’re consuming the sport of running to see what humans can do, there are many, many people who don’t care if the athlete is clean or not. They just want a level playing field, because that’s maybe the most important part of a sporting framework: fairness.
Earlier this year, I wrote about the Enhanced Games, which wants to create a doped up mega Olympics.
It caused a little commotion among the purists among us, but if everyone’s on drugs, that playing field is level, so it’s a fair sport. What do you think?
How about ultra-processed foods?
I had a very fun Saturday morning running a half-marathon down in Long Beach with a couple of good friends. After a year of working together on his running, I was pacing Philip to a 2:22 in his first race at this distance. It was so great to see him succeed.
Another friend, Colin, was in town from London, so he joined us ahead of his first marathon in a couple of weeks. He had a couple of gels to see him through the race in terms of carbohydrates. I had a couple of solid energy bars, because I really, really don’t love how those gels feel in my mouth. Even the bars have that artificial chewiness to them.
As someone brought up on the highly-processed foods of the ‘80s and ‘90s, I’ve obviously pivoted to trying to have as many unprocessed whole foods as possible in my diet. The gels and bars and powders that I’ve had to adopt in my life as an endurance runner feel so counterintuitive to what we know is correct.
That’s especially the case when you add in my personal focus on running for my health and community, rather than for performance or the acquisition of more race medal/t-shirt combos.
I already often drink a homemade mix of watered-down orange juice with a teaspoon of salt for my electrolytes, but for-profit scientists are out there telling me to purchase A.N. Other brand’s electrolyte mix because it’s the best thing.
What are the other, more natural options out there? I bet they’ll be cheaper than a $4 energy bar, as well.
Last week on Running Sucks
On Thursday, I wrote about how L.A. finally got a cool, new running store six months ago. There’s another one opening TOMORROW just a couple of miles down the road, and there’s another one being planned much better, in Leimert Park. It’s exciting!
Read about Clement Taverniti, the haute couture fashion designer who blended his love for streetwear and performance apparel into this multi-brand store in Echo Park, Los Angeles.
Last year on Running Sucks
A year ago, I interviewed one of the most enduringly influential people in the running world. Martinus Evans has served as an inspiration with his Slow AF Run Club, appearing at marathons around the world.
People in bigger bodies often feel like they can’t, but they definitely can, and seeing Martinus – who celebrates being a 300lb/136kg runner – helps people understand that size doesn’t matter. Running is for everyone.
Running Sucks Haiku of the Week
Had a tummy ache
After running the halfie
Didn’t shit myself
Having a poop emergency while running is a rite of passage, even if it’s not one that I care to experience. I don’t know if my upset stomach (the next day) was the result of too little sleep, too much athletic stress put on my body, or the things I ate, but it meant that I couldn’t run again on Sunday morning, which was further irritating.
Fun fact: I tried to interview one of the very first documented marathon-poopers, but he never replied to my email. Maybe I’ll try again.
Housekeeping
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Thanks for reading
- Raz x
With regards to eating ultra-processed running foods as in bars, gels, electrolytes, etc. -- why bother? I mean if you're trying to set a PR, then some kcals might help, but if your focus is on health, then maybe consider running and racing in a fasted state. Since it appears that metabolic illness is widespread, and the theory is that it has to do with excessive carbs and not enough ability to burn fat (although there are other theories, like seed oils etc), it makes sense to me to avoid all kcals before and during, which ought to maximize fat burning. For myself, I've run as far as 50 miles without kcals, although more recently I'll typically start eating after 50k.
I'm ok with fair enhancement (and I'd watch an Enhanced Games). "Fair" in this context means:
1) clear presentation of the rules (what the boundaries for "enhancement" are),
2) ruthless and effective enforcement of those rules, and
3) full disclosure/transparency.
I was going to add that I'd never personally enhance, but then I started thinking about a bunch of things I use (trekking poles, graphene soles, LMNT, caffeine, Vespa, warm and lightweight high-tech clothing, etc. etc.) and it becomes very clear to me that this is not a yes-or-no question, but rather a question of where we decide to draw the line at a particular time for a particular event.