The 65p baking ingredient that is being used to rewrite athletics’ record books
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New technology that sees star runners ingest bicarbonate of soda in a jelly-like substance is shaving seconds off finishing times with founder of British based company Flycarb explaining science
The vital ingredient to track and field’s record books being rewritten again this summer is a 65p baking product.
And at the London Stadium’s warm-up track on Saturday afternoon the world ’s best athletes will be slurping it down in gel form from plastic pots. Nevermind the fact many say it tastes like wallpaper paste and has some racing for the toilet bowl faster than the finish line.
Bicarbonate of soda, essential to giving cakes their texture, is improving performances by up to two per cent.
“It just helps with that little edge we’re all looking for,” says Josh Carr, the co-founder of British start-up Flycarb. “When you’re pushing really hard you can go a little bit longer. At the elite level pretty much everyone is taking it and it’s a significant factor in the times we’re seeing, particularly in the middle-distance events.”
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The science is simple: bicarb slows down lactic acid build up in the muscles, ensuring athletes can push harder for longer.
Its use in sport has been around for decades – especially in cycling. But the difference now is that scientists have significantly reduced the risk of gastro distress by developing a new way to absorb it.
“It’s not new, it’s how we take it that’s new,” explains Jack Gray, Flycarb’s other founder. “And being able to take it without those side effects means it’s a no brainer, basically.”
Swedish brand Maurten made the significant leap by developing a hydrogel that surrounds the bicarb. From marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum down to British 800m superstar Keely Hodgkinson, the list of champions to have praised its impact since its launch three years ago is lengthy.
“I’d always heard horror stories about bicarb, people getting it wrong, so I was a bit ‘Oh, what if it does that to me?’” Hodgkinson said shortly before winning silver at the 2023 World Championships. “But I’ve never had a problem with it.”
In Paris last summer she was slurping it down before storming to gold, so too clubmate Georgia Hunter-Bell ahead of her storming run to 1500m bronze.
“In the 80s people would head to the supermarket, stick the bicarb in water, drink it and it would come out both ends pretty violently,” Carr adds. “But we have almost zero complaints about GI distress now.”
Flycarb and Mnstry, a German company more established in cycling, have joined a burgeoning consumer market with the latter recently bringing a tablet version to the public.
And its success is beginning to filter down to the grassroots with more and more club runners slurping it down a couple of hours before competing.
Gray’s advice is resist all urge to chew – that would negate the gel’s protection against tummy troubles – and then watch your personal bests tumble. “In terms of the marginal gains, as Team Sky popularised it, alongside caffeine it’s probably the biggest you can get,” he adds.
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