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Does caffeine help you run faster?

This question is about Running

Natalie Rizzo, MS, RD, Freelance Writer

Caffeine has been shown to improve performance, speed, power, and endurance capacity when consumed before a run [

1

,

2

]. Consuming 3-6 mg of caffeine/kg of body weight 15 - 60 minutes before exercise seems to benefit most runners. While individual responses to caffeine vary, research suggests total caffeine intake shouldn’t exceed 400mg/day [

3

]. To put it in perspective, 1 cup of coffee (8 oz.) provides about 100 mg of caffeine.

Coffee in a white mug on a wooden table

People also ask:

  1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Office of dietary supplements - dietary supplements for exercise and athletic performance. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Retrieved September 20, 2021, from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-HealthProfessional/. 

  2. Jonathan D. Wiles, Damian Coleman, Michael Tegerdine & Ian L. Swaine (2006) The effects of caffeine ingestion on performance time, speed and power during a laboratory-based 1 km cycling time-trial, Journal of Sports Sciences, 24:11, 1165-1171, DOI:

    10.1080/02640410500457687

  3. Jane Shearer, Terry E Graham, Performance effects and metabolic consequences of caffeine and caffeinated energy drink consumption on glucose disposal, Nutrition Reviews, Volume 72, Issue suppl_1, 1 October 2014, Pages 121–136, https://doi.org/10.1111/nure.12124

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