How much coffee, if any, do elites consume daily?

Probably anywhere between 0-3 glasses per day. Stupid question if you ask me.

why is it stupid if they ask you? did i ask you?

I'm not really quite elite, but around national class at least (2xtrials qualifier).

Anyway, its not a stupid question. One might think about how drinking too much coffee might influence vitamin absorption rates, etc.

There are some guys and girls on the Hansons team with me that don't drink coffee at all. Others (including myself) drink quite a bit. I usually wake up and have a mug. Then another mug or 12 ounce (grande) mid morning...then another in the afternoon....so 3-4 cups a day on average. Always a Starbucks grande or equivalent 2-3 hours before a race now.

Before Boston last year I thought that I would ween myself off of all caffeine 2 weeks leading up to the race (i had a plan to take a 200mg caffeine pill during the race and wanted to actually feel it). I ended up just getting headaches and feeling like crap that whole week....it felt like my metabolism was messed up (not good before a marathon!)

Now i just don't hold back....except i'll still avoid it after 5pm.

regular Starbucks coffee has (I think) a very high concentration of caffeine (highest I know of) relative to other coffees/drinks.

http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

OUNCES CAFFEINE MG/OZ

666 Energy Drink 4 200 50.0

Coca-Cola Classic 12 35 2.9

Coffee (Brewed) 8 108 13.4

Coffee (Drip) 8 145 18.1

Coffee (Espresso) 1.5 77 51.3

Dunkin' Donuts Coffee 16 143 8.9

Starbucks Grande Caffe Americano16 225 14.1

Starbucks Grande Caffe Latte 16 150 9.4

Starbucks Grande Caffe Mocha 16 175 10.9

Starbucks Grande Cappuccino 16 150 9.4

Starbucks Grande Coffee 16 330 20.6

Starbucks Grande Decaf Coffee 16 13 0.8

Starbucks Grande Iced Espresso Drinks 16 150 9.4

Starbucks Short Coffee 8 180 22.5

Starbucks Tall Caffe Americano 12 150 12.5

Starbucks Tall Caffe Latte 12 75 6.2

Starbucks Tall Caffe Mocha 12 95 7.9

Starbucks Tall Cappuccino 12 75 6.2

Starbucks Tall Coffee 12 260 21.7

Starbucks Tall Decaf Coffee 12 10 0.8

Starbucks Tall Iced Espresso Drinks 12 75 6.2

Sage,

Thanks very much for responding you the man!!!!!!! Good luck to you and the Hansons ...kick some BUTT!!!!!!!!!

Do you take iron supplements? Are you concerned about their absorption? Or do you measure your iron through bloodwork and have you found that it's good? I'm just curious b/c just learning about how difficult it is for iron to absorb and trying to get my numbers up.

Rozay, R. wrote:

regular Starbucks coffee has (I think) a very high concentration of caffeine (highest I know of) relative to other coffees/drinks.

I doubt it. Starbucks typically roasts the crap out their beans, and darker roasts often have less caffeine than light roasts because more caffeine is volatilized during roasting and more cells are ruptured which allows caffeine to escape. Arabica beans have a consistent caffeine content regardless of the region they were grown or what roaster buys them, so there's no reason to believe that Starbucks has more caffeine than other brands. Robusta beans have more caffeine than Arabica, but only a crappy roaster would use Robusta in a coffee intended for drip.

The reason "grande coffee" has the highest caffeine content on that list is because it's just coffee. Americanos, lattes, mochas and cappucinos have coffee diluted with water or milk. Use your head dude.

Dunkin' Donuts Coffee 16 143 8.9

Starbucks Grande Coffee 16 330 20.6

Why so much more caffeine in the Starbucks v. DunkinDonuts (assuming I'm reading this correctly)???

Rozay, R. wrote:

why is it stupid if they ask you? did i ask you?

I would assume that the coffee consumption of elites depends on their personal preferences just like everyone else. Their status as elites probably doesn't effect their coffee consumption.

Rozay, R. wrote:

regular Starbucks coffee has (I think) a very high concentration of caffeine

No.

Strength of brew has nothing to to with it.

Actually, cheaper coffee beans tend to have more caffeine.

Rozay, R. wrote:

How much coffee, if any, do elites consume daily? we know Africans drink tea i think? Wejo suggests using coffee pre-race to enhance performance? just wondering what the deal is, thanks

Africans drink tea? You think?

Coffee originated in Ethiopia. Its the country's number 1 export. They produce some of the most sought after coffee in the world.

In answer to your question, world-class elites on average consume 2.321473 cups of coffee per day compared to 1.9707634 for US athletes.

From the mouth of an elite wrote:

http://in-the-arena-itanhteam.blogspot.com/2011/02/back-to-grind.html

I noticed Withrow is no longer listed as an ITA NH team member. I thought he was part of that group. Anyone know what happened?

obviously people drink tea everywhere. but i think it's worth knowing what elites do so we can optimize our own performances. Yes, I know many Africans drink it, just like many Africans drink polluted water. the former may be good for running, but the later certainly isnt good for running.

caffeine is known to be a performance enhancer but if you drink it daily, even on recovery days, would it cause you to go faster than you need to go, thereby hindering your recovery? also, if you already drink it daily, you may need greater stimulating effect for races. that may sound crazy but Wejo talks about tapering the caffeine intake for race day so that you get a greater stimulating effect on race day. And we can see above that Hansons Sage Canaday tried to taper his caffeine leading up to Boston Marathon but then decided against it.

in the ChasingKimbia youTube videos, one of the elites talks about drinking 5-6 cups of tea daily, is this better than coffee? does it matter? are too many Americans addicted to caffeine? there's also talk about how it may not be good for the brain to be in a constant "fight or flight" state...the dangers of excessive caffeine...

Caffeinated Mofo wrote:

Dunkin' Donuts Coffee 16 143 8.9

Starbucks Grande Coffee 16 330 20.6

Why so much more caffeine in the Starbucks v. DunkinDonuts (assuming I'm reading this correctly)???

so 16ozs of Starbucks > 16oz of Dunkin Donuts....correct?

I'm not quite elite either 20 for 5k

Are Webb Ritz Rupp elite they can't win shit

i stay away from coffee because I'm an asshole and coffee makes it worse

vfres wrote:

No.

Strength of brew has nothing to to with it.

Actually, cheaper coffee beans tend to have more caffeine.

Strength (ie the ratio of coffee grounds to water used in brewing) certainly does influence the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee. However, Starbucks coffee is no stronger than any other cup of coffee (it is darker roasted, which some people confuse with being stronger).

yes, I take iron (just pills) now. I'd think most college runners and pro runners (at least in the US) do or would need to. However, again it depends on the individual (some people tend to absorb iron better than others, some people can run well with a ferritin level below 25, others can't, etc). Running high mileage usually demands a decent level. That being said I also take a little Zinc, B-12, Magnesium, and vitamin D. All things you could get from a balanced diet...but lets face it, i enjoy just eating pizza 2-3 meals a week.

That being said, iron overdose is fatal and just taking any supplement in too high of a dose is going to be really bad for you. Best to get your blood checked if you can and see exactly where your ferritin, total iron stores and iron binding capacity are at. Iron is one of those things that you really don't want to take that much of...in unnatural sources - as it can lead to toxic build up.

Fortunately we can get that checked through blood work 3 times a year (something I take advantage of). A basic CBC "complete blood cell count" and at least a ferritin (iron) test isn't nearly as costly as something like a B-12 vitamin test, but the $ can add up fast. If you are in school it they might cover it...but you have to be "tired."

On a side note in the elite athlete suites that I've been in at some major road races it does always seem like many of the Africans make and drink a lot of tea.

Depends on the nationality/ethnicity. From my experience, europeans drink much more than americans. I trained with a couple western europeans world class mid distance guys a while back and they drank coffee before nearly every workout and race. It's much more of a social thing in many cultures. Before a race, coffee helps relax people because they can enjoy a cup of coffee and talk about something other than running for a bit rather than listen to their ipods alone.