Fuel Your Fast

Fueling for performance is a science. Before you lace up and take on those 800-meter repeats, focus on nailing the basics first, then fine-tune your strategy to up your cadence.

Dietitian Julia Denison, MS, RD, LDN, says the first thing to know is researchers have yet to conduct robust studies that identify food or food groups that up your speed. “Specific foods are not going to have a direct effect on speed,” says Denison. While it’s a bummer that, say, peanut butter doesn’t make you log miles 20 percent faster, Denison explains that there’s still a proper way to fuel for a run. And, although it may not cut your mile time from 8:30 to 8 minutes, it’s still worth considering.