Bicarb soda (sodium bicarbonate)

Bicarb Soda or sodium bicarbonate is a common chemical that essentially works to reduce fatigue whilst running, in theory allowing you to run faster for longer. It essentially works by muting what causes fatigue in your muscles as you run. As you run, lactate builds up which introduces Hydrogen Ions into the muscle.

An accumulation of these hydrogen ions is what causes that fatigue feeling (despite the common thought the lactate causes the fatigue feeling). Bicarb Soda (being very alkaline), works to pull these ions out of your muscles and when in the bloodstream, neutralise them, effectively removing fatigue from your blood and muscles.

According to studies, bicarb soda can improve running performance anywhere from 1-3%.

Does Bicarb Soda do the same thing as energy gels?

No, bicarbonate soda and normal gels are two different things and don't do the same thing.

Energy Gels, like those you'd typically use for marathons, are primarily designed to replenish carbohydrates lost during longer runs, allowing you to run for longer before crashing. If you're interested in learning more here, check out my guide on energy gels for new runners.

Bicarb soda / sodium bicarbonate contains no carbohydrates, so fundamentally can't do the same thing as an energy gel. Sodium bicarbonate instead helps you perform better by neutralising the chemicals in your blood and muscles that contributes to the feeling of fatigue.

Can you take bicarb soda with energy gels?

Yes absolutely. These two supplements work in completely different ways and don't do the same job. Energy gels are to replenish carbohydrate stores, whilst bicarb soda works by reducing how fatigued you feel. Taking them both at the same time is fine in theory, though bicarb soda is notorious for causing digestive issues while running, so adding another factor (an energy gel) to the mix, can make it more unpredictable.

What distance does bicarb soda help best with?

The way sodium bicarbonate / bicarb soda works in your body means in theory, it is much better placed to help with shorter, faster races than something like a marathon.

Bicarb soda works by drawing out hydrogen ions from your fatigued muscles, and neutralising those ions. Since these hydrogen ions are what cause the burning feeling of fatigue, this allows you to run faster for longer.

The way that these hydrogen ions are produced by muscles, is much more pronounced at faster paces where you're closer to your redline. So during slower runs like a marathon where you produce less lactate and therefore hydrogen ions, it could be argued that bicarb soda would have less impact.

For longer distances though, there is (probably), still some benefit, even if it's just the placebo effect.