Multi-day racing: How much caffeine to take
- Maryke Louw
- Jul 20, 2016
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 9
We take a look at an interesting research study that suggests an improvement of between 4% and 5% in multi-day races and that provides some clues on how much caffeine to take. Remember, if you need more help with an injury, you're welcome to consult one of our physios online via video call.
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In this article:
Caffeine for running and other endurance sports
Caffeine has been shown to have positive effects on performance in cycling, running, cross-country skiing, and rowing, for short as well as long-duration events. All of these studies have, however, looked at one-day events.
❓ The question that a team of researchers in Norway wanted to answer was: Would the improved performance due to caffeine supplements on the first day have a negative effect on the following day’s performance, if one assumes that you would have increased muscle damage due to the greater effort on the first day?
What the researchers did
To test this, the researchers took eight elite cross-country skiers and made them do a series of exercise bouts on a skiing ergometer (think of it as a treadmill for endurance skiers that also involves the arms).
Each exercise bout consisted of a 10 minutes at 75% effort, followed by 5 minutes at 80% effort, and then an all-out effort for 10 minutes. They did this on two consecutive days, waited six days, then two more such exercise days, waited another six days, followed by the final two exercise days.
Each skier had to take one of three drinks 75 minutes before each session without knowing which type they got. The drinks contained either:
3 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight
4.5 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight
no caffeine (a placebo).
👉 To put the dosages into perspective: for someone weighing 70 kg this would mean either 210 mg or 315 mg of caffeine, respectively.
Results: Effects of caffeine on performance during multi-day events
The results were very interesting. The skiers who took caffeine (both dosage sizes) performed significantly better on both days than those who drank the placebo (no caffeine).
Those who took the 3 mg/kg dosage of caffeine "skied" 4% further on Day 1 and 5% further on Day 2 than those who took the placebo.
Those who took 4.5mg/kg skied 4% and 5.1% further than the placebo group.
This was despite the caffeine group reporting more muscles soreness and blood tests confirming that they had more muscle damage than the placebo group after the first day's session.
💡 So, the answer to the research question is: Yes, caffeine supplements can lead to greater muscle damage due to an increased effort BUT it can still enhance subsequent performance despite the greater muscle damage.
My recommendation
It is important to note that the results might be different for other sports. Also, the study was done on elite athletes and the caffeine-vs.-muscle-damage equation might look different for recreational athletes. Lastly, this study only looked at short-duration exercise and the effect on performance on longer distance multi-day events has not been studied.
Having said that, there's no harm in trying it as long as you stay within a safe daily dosage, which is a maximum of 5.7 mg per kilogram of bodyweight for healthy adults who are not pregnant (so, 400 mg of caffeine for someone weighing 70 kg). For pregnant women, the recommended dosage is half of this.
I find caffeine gummies or chewing gum more convenient than drinks because your hydration schedule might look different than your caffeine schedule during a race, so here's a variety of flavours and dosages:
👉 We also have an article about using caffeinde for shorter races, or you can download our cheat sheet PDF on how to use caffeine for races over various distances here.
How we can help
Need more help with your injury? You’re welcome to consult one of the team at SIP online via video call for an assessment of your injury and a tailored treatment plan.
We're all UK Chartered Physiotherapists with Master’s Degrees related to Sports & Exercise Medicine or at least 10 years' experience in the field. But at Sports Injury Physio we don't just value qualifications; all of us also have a wealth of experience working with athletes across a broad variety of sports, ranging from recreationally active people to professional athletes. You can meet the team here.
About the Author
Maryke Louw is a chartered physiotherapist with more than 20 years' experience and a Masters Degree in Sports Injury Management. Follow her on LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
