Noakes doubts elite carb claims, coach answers with gel counts

Tim Noakes says he is not convinced elite marathoners take in the carbohydrate they say they do. He posted a Grok summary of Andreas Almgren's fueling strategy for the 2026 New York City Marathon, which Almgren won in 2:06:01 on debut, and then followed it with his own doubts about what he had watched on television.

The summary says Almgren aimed for about 120 grams of carbs per hour, using Maurten Drink Mix bottles every 5km, caffeine gels and bicarb (sodium bicarbonate, taken to buffer acid in the muscles). It says he spent nearly a year training his gut for that volume, sometimes testing around 130 to 144 grams an hour in sessions, well above the traditional 30 to 60 grams an hour guidance and at the top end of what the summary calls elite carb-maxing. Brady Holmer reposted it with a note that he had to share a pro-high-carb Noakes post.

Noakes is not sold

Noakes then wrote that he watched the London and Boston marathons and was not convinced the intakes matched what was claimed. On New York, he said Almgren seemed more interested in running fast over the final few miles than in taking on carbs at a high rate. He called that his impression.

The answer came from coach McKirdy Trained, who posted actual numbers from his own athletes. The whole professional team targets eight gels in a marathon, one every 5km. At New York, with seven bottles on course, the plan was seven gels plus one about 15 minutes before the start. One athlete, Kamohelo, took seven gels in roughly 1:50:00, not counting the pre-race gel, plus fluid.

McKirdy also answered the verification question directly. He asks his athletes afterwards, and they tell him what was missed, what was taken, whether they got it all or left some in the wrapper, and whether they deliberately took half a gel because they were surging.

What it actually means

Nobody measured what Almgren swallowed on the day. The 120 grams an hour figure is a stated plan, and the summary Noakes posted says so itself, noting that exact in-race intake is not publicly verified after the fact. The disagreement is not really about whether high-carb fueling works, it is about how much weight to put on numbers that come from interviews and brand releases rather than a count of empty wrappers.

McKirdy Trained

@McKirdyTrained

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How do I verify what was taken? I ask my athletes... and they tell me what was missed/taken

Tim Noakes

@ProfTimNoakes

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I watched London and Boston marathons and was not convinced that the intakes matched what was claimed.