I have run up to 9 miles while eating low carb. At first it's hard but once my body adapted (this took 6+ months of lc eating and running), I had no problem. I have never done marathons but something tells me fat = endurance = marathon

I don't think it is strange that we can't come up with an elite athlete who low carbs. I don't know the diet of most athletes. So I can't tell you who is doing what kind of diet. And I certainly don't want to emulate some of them anyway! Some of these American Football players die pretty young.

Is it possible that some of the people holding onto the idea that we need carbs for exercise are having trouble letting go of the old ideas about nutrition? It seems to me that the people who train really hard have more room in their diets for carbs because of their huge energy expenditure. By that I mean that it doesn't hurt them as much as it may affect others. They can get away with eating more of everything.

I know we are all trying to figure out what works for our own bodies. So I find it interesting to find out that some people are watching fat or calories along with their carbs. And I haven't figured out if that is because it is just so hard to let go of the old ways, or if it is because it is necessary. I certainly haven't figured out my optimum diet.

And elite athletes are often the ones pumping things they shouldn't into their bodies. Maybe their chosen way of eating is not working for them as well as it should?

If Lance Armstrong can't stay as lean as he wants while eating lots of carbs no one can.That's not a real high %, but the concept may be beginning to take hold. My thinking is athletes could extend their career into the late 30's or longer by avoiding the harmful effects carbs have on the human body.
Muoio D M, et al. Effect of dietary fat on metabolic adjustments to maximal VO-2 and endurance in runners. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 1994; 26 (1): 81-88

Note:
Mamo Wolde died recently at age 71. At 36, He won the 1968 Olympic marathon and the 10000-meter silver medal in Mexico City.

Interesting, but it's not true, that Mamo Wolde's time wasn't bettered.

Here you can see all marathon record times:
http://www.marathonguide.com/history/records/index.cfm

Oct 20, 1968 - Men's Olympic Marathon
Mamo Wolde (Ethiopia) - 2:20:26
Olympic Marathon, Mexico City, Mexico


Today, the record is below 2 hours and 5 minutes:

Sep 28, 2003 - Men's World Record
Paul Tergat (Kenya) - 2:04:55
Berlin Marathon, Berlin, Germany

Okay, but mike d's quote wasn't dated. Frankly, 2:20 for a marathon on little or no carbs pretty much blows my head off. And that time is still awesome by today's standards. The guy's time being bettered doesn't take away from the fact that he did it, apparently, on a low-carb diet.

Really. I thought I read he was training for an NYC Marathon. Good luck keeping the weight off with that on high carb!

Hell, it might just be a function of age. Even the best athletes go to pot after they bow out of the sport and start investing in Hard Rock Cafes. /snark/

Thanks for posting this. That's actually pretty exciting that it isn't being rejected out of hand any longer.

Most famous athletes have carb-indoctrinated nutritionists telling them what to eat, so it is not surprising that so few have even experimented with low carb. I read an article on Finnish marathoners eating induction levels of carbs & doing very well. They found it doesn't work until your body has become accustomed to eating low carb for several months before the race.

Another take on this: If there is one time you can eat some of that stuff you would not otherwise, a long haul strenuous exertion is it: can't say how much I enjoyed sandwiches the day we biked from Cispus almost to the top of Mt. St. Helens. And no harm to diet. Rob

Armstrong was on Jimmy Kimmel the other night-- he said he enjoys beer and pork rinds now, still cycles and runs, but is too old to race in the tour ever again. He looked fit and lean on the talk show, I hope he doesn't go to seed quickly.

its dated advice the nutritionists and coaches still are giving, out and I think the base of that advice starts with our governments "food pyramid."

An interview with Dr. Phinney

http://hoe.kgnu.net/hoeradioshow.php?show_id=184

Exactly ...It may not be long till we see Olympic swimmers, runners, skiers and others winning on LC plans-- maybe a Le Tour cyclist will win someday without even doping. Maybe Lance could have won #8 on LC or maybe 10? Research shows LC anabolic diets naturaly increase testosterone and other growth hormones.

That is a good article, to large to DL the mp3 on dial-up.

http://nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/2

http://nutritionandmetabolism.com/c...43-7075-1-2.pdf
So much for the boneless, skinless chicken breasts so popular today