Learning from Andrew Jones

The scientist who proved beetroot juice makes you faster—and helped engineer the first sub-2-hour marathon attempt

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The Story

In 2009, Andrew Jones published a paper that shocked the sports science world.

He showed that drinking beetroot juice reduced the oxygen cost of exercise by about 5%. Athletes could do the same work while burning less fuel.

For decades, scientists believed this "running economy" was fixed—you were born efficient or you weren't. Jones proved you could change it with food.

He earned the nickname "Beetroot Andy," but his contributions go far beyond vegetables. As lead physiologist for Nike's Breaking2 project—the attempt to break the 2-hour marathon barrier—Jones synthesized decades of research into the limits of human performance.

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Who is Andrew Jones?

Jones doesn't just study performance limits—he helps elite athletes push past them.

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What ISP Students Learn

Lesson 1: Efficiency Can Be Changed

The old belief: your "running economy" (how much oxygen you need to run at a certain speed) was fixed by genetics.

Jones proved this wrong.

By supplementing with dietary nitrate (from beetroot juice), athletes reduced their oxygen cost by 3-5%. They became more fuel-efficient—like getting better gas mileage.

The mechanism: Nitrate converts to nitric oxide, which:

• Improves mitochondrial efficiency (less oxygen wasted)
• Improves muscle contraction efficiency (less ATP wasted on calcium handling)

What this means for young athletes: Your efficiency isn't fixed. Specific nutritional strategies can make you more economical.

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Lesson 2: Timing and Dose Matter

Jones didn't just prove beetroot works—he figured out exactly how to use it.

The protocol:

• Dose: ~8.4 mmol of nitrate (about 2 beetroot juice shots or 500ml fresh juice)
• Timing: 2.5-3 hours before competition (that's when nitrite peaks in blood)
• Duration: 3-7 days of loading before competition maximizes the effect

Why it works better with loading: Nitrate is stored in your muscles. Multiple days of supplementation fills these stores so you have a local reservoir ready to use.

What this means for young athletes: Supplements aren't magic—they require specific doses and timing to work.

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Lesson 3: Don't Kill Your Mouth Bacteria

Here's a weird finding from Jones' research:

Antibacterial mouthwash cancels out beetroot juice.

The nitrate in beetroot can't be converted to nitric oxide by your body directly. Instead, bacteria on your tongue do the conversion. Kill those bacteria with strong mouthwash, and the whole pathway breaks.

His studies showed that mouthwash users got ZERO benefit from beetroot juice.

The implication: Don't use antibacterial mouthwash before competition if you're using nitrate strategies.

What this means for young athletes: Sometimes what you DON'T do matters as much as what you do.

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Lesson 4: Elite Athletes Are a Different Problem

Jones is honest: beetroot juice works better for recreational athletes than elites.

Why?

• Elite athletes already have high baseline nitric oxide levels from years of training
• Their muscles are already highly efficient
• They're operating near their physiological ceiling

For elites, nitrate still helps in specific situations:

• Highly anaerobic events (1500m)
• Altitude (where oxygen is limited)
• Repeated sprint efforts

What this means for young athletes: Strategies that help beginners may have smaller effects as you get more advanced. But they still help.

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Key Takeaways

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How This Shows Up at ISP

Andrew Jones' nitrate research shapes advanced competition preparation in the Bio Skill Tree:

• Beetroot juice is taught as one of the "evidence-based" performance aids
• The importance of timing and dosing is emphasized
• Students learn that some strategies work differently at different levels
• The mouth microbiome connection teaches that the body is a system

When ISP students learn about legal performance aids, nitrate is on the short list of things that actually work.

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The Breaking2 Project

Jones served as lead physiologist for Nike's attempt to break the 2-hour marathon.

His approach: treat the marathon as a math equation.

Marathon speed = (VO2max × % sustainable) ÷ Running Economy

To go faster, you either:

1. Increase your aerobic engine (VO2max)
2. Run at a higher percentage of that engine (lactate threshold)
3. Become more efficient (running economy)

Jones optimized all three—including novel carbohydrate delivery systems that allowed runners to absorb 90g/hour without GI distress.

Eliud Kipchoge ran 2:00:25 in Breaking2, then broke 2 hours (1:59:40) in a separate event in 2019.

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Learn More

• How ISP Works →
• Asker Jeukendrup — Carb Absorption →
• Louise Burke — Supplements Framework →

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"We shattered the assumption that efficiency was fixed. You can tune the human engine."

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