My Project

During my 4 week senior project, I want to test the effects of carbohydrates on long distance running. The theory behind this is that training without carbs will allow your body to better metabolize fats. When running longer distances your body uses energy stored in carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. The body can store around 2000 calories of glycogen, but over the course of a marathon a runner will easily burn more than that. Once your glycogen stores are depleted, you hit what is infamously known as "the wall." This is not the point in time that you switch your Ipod to your Pink Floyd playlist, but it is debatably the hardest part of the race. At this point your body has to switch energy sources in order to finish the race. The next available energy source is fat. Your body will begin to burn fat as an energy source as soon as your glycogen stores are depleted. This change of energy source has a drastic effect on the body and it causes a sudden drop in energy levels that the runner can feel. The idea behind training on low carbs is that you can train your body to more easily use fat as an energy source so the wall can be avoided or reduced.