My experience with Maurten Bicarb as late 30s runner getting back into the 800m

Here is my experience with bicarb supplementation.
I don’t use Maurten Bicarb; instead, I take capsules, each containing 1g of bicarb.
In the past, I struggled with stomach issues, so I was hesitant to use it.
However, I decided to try it during a few training sessions before the race.

My previous personal bests were 2:02 twice in the 800m and 4:09 in the 1500m (In May this year), decent, but nothing exceptional.
In August, I focused on an 800m-specific training block for about a month because I wanted to compete in one 800m and one 600m race.
Unfortunately, I had stomach issues during the 800m race and couldn’t race at all, so I ended up only racing the 600m the following week.

My final quality workout before the race was 2x(3x300m) with 2:30 minutes of rest between reps and 7 minutes between sets.
My splits were as follows:
Set 1: 42.30, 43.18, 43.37
Set 2: 43.10, 43.12, 43.06
I felt that I was in good shape for the 600m and expected to run around 1:25, as I had clocked 1:28.02 in a solo time trial three months earlier.

For the race, I took 3x5g of bicarbonate (waiting 30 minutes between each dose) two hours beforehand.
In the 600m race, I came through the first 200m in 27.2 seconds, then eased slightly to split a high 55 for 400m.
My whole body was burning, but my legs felt surprisingly strong.
I managed to finish with a hard kick, passing four competitors along the way, and ended with a time of 1:23.67, which was incredible for me.

Now, I’m unsure if this result was purely due to my training, as I’ve only been running seriously for a year, or if the bicarbonate helped a bit.
However, I could definitely feel an effect, similar to the boost caffeine provides for 5-10k races.

I just want to know if in when I pass the Maurten bicarb booth at the marathon expo it should become part of my plans for the next day.

Thanks, this is helpful. I've run like 35 marathons and never had to stop at a portapotty. I want to try bicarb, but a single stop would make any benefit not worth it. It's a tough call, I actually have it sitting on my kitchen table but I haven't tested it and I'm running Houston in 4 weeks.

Im 37 and was shootin for sub 16 5k in my last training block, my PR is 16:04 so I figured I was close. Wanted to leave no stone unturned, decided to give bicarb a try. 1st 3 serving went fine, felt a little bloated but no extra bathrooms stops or cramping. Since the trials went well decided to use my final serving for the goal race, and...........I got cramps the whole way and ruined my race. Not sure I will try it again.

So with meal fine, on empty-shats?

Placebo effect, confirmation bias.

Great to see people actually experimenting on their own versus the other bicarb thread with its endless references to study after study.

However, I thought bicarb sweet spot was 800 / mile where lactic builds up so quickly and then crushes you. Why are people trying to use it for longer distances like 5k, marathon, etc.?

To post above- I don’t disagree my “benefit” could have been placebo/confirmation bias.

other Q- yes very bad on empty stomach.

why for marathon? Athletes that use it for events longer than 800/mile:

Primož Roglič, Nils van der Poel, Alex Yee, a good portion of Olympic XC skiers. My coach works at the Olympic training center, said Nils takes it the night before comps. I’m sure there’s some benefit to be had if you’re a full time pro and can find the perfect timing/system but I’d rather stick to the basics (supershoes, expensive gels) instead of pooping all day