Yomif Kejelcha's Key to Success at the London Marathon
Yomif Kejelcha's Secret Strategy and Key to Success with Santa Madre at the London Marathon: How Nutrition Optimized His Performance.
It's increasingly clear that major marathons aren't won by simply training more miles. When we talk about running at the highest level, nutrition becomes an essential and key part of performance. This was reflected in the protocol that the Santa Madre team shared with Yomif Kejelcha after his participation and success in achieving a sub-2-hour time at the London Marathon.
We were able to see the exact document with the entire nutritional plan: times, quantities, gels, caffeine, and even the side of the table where he was to pick up each product during the race.
And yes, everything was measured to the millimeter.
Yomif Kejelcha's Nutrition for the London Marathon Started Before the Race.
One of the most interesting details of the protocol was the pre-race strategy.
Between 6:15 and 7:30, Yomif consumed 750ml of a new liquid carbohydrate prototype from Santa Madre. But he didn't do it all at once. The document clearly stated: "little to little." That is, to consume it gradually and progressively.
This detail makes a lot of physiological sense:
- Maintain stable glucose levels
- Improve absorption
- Arrive with available energy without saturating the stomach
After the warm-up, the strategy continued with:
- UNUSUAL GEL 45 100 CAF
- Accompanied by 4 sips of water
Another key point of current elite running: combining carbohydrates and caffeine just before maximum effort to boost performance and neuromuscular activation.
During the race, the protocol remained extremely precise.
- KM 10 – RESET GEL + 20 ml
- KM 15 – 63ml UNUSUAL FUEL
- KM 20 – Gel 45 CAF
- KM 30 – RESET GEL + 20 ml
- KM 35 – 58ml UNUSUAL FUEL
The Santa Madre team included key instructions for Yomif in the document, next to each product they added the word LEFT or RIGHT.
The reason?
To indicate the exact side of the aid station table where each product would be placed to avoid errors or loss of time during the race.
And even though it may seem like a minor detail, in an elite marathon, every second and every gesture counts.
The new Santa Madre prototype arriving in September
The most striking part of the entire strategy was the use of "Unusual Fuel" and a new Santa Madre prototype that has not yet been released to the market and will officially arrive in September.
The idea behind the product seems very clear: liquid carbohydrates, better digestibility, progressive intake, and constant energy during the race.
Taken in sips, it facilitates continuous energy supply without causing digestive saturation.
The Key to Success in Yomif Kejelcha's London Marathon with Santa Madre:
Yomif Kejelcha's nutrition at the London Marathon perfectly reflects how modern running is evolving: it's no longer just about consuming many carbohydrates, but about optimizing how and when the body absorbs them.
Why this strategy makes so much sense for a marathon like London.
One of the biggest problems in long-distance running is digestive collapse when the body stops tolerating overly concentrated gels or drinks.
That's why more and more athletes are looking for:
- Progressive intake
- More liquid formats
- Exact distribution of carbohydrates
- Avoiding large intakes all at once
This helps to:
- Maintain stable energy
- Delay fatigue
- Reduce gastrointestinal discomfort
- Sustain high paces for longer
And there lies precisely one of the keys to modern marathons.
What an amateur runner can learn from this.
Although this strategy is designed for an elite athlete, the concept is entirely applicable to amateur runners.
Many runners could improve simply by:
- Better planning when to take each gel
- Training nutrition during long runs
- Avoiding consuming carbohydrates all at once
- Hydrating better along with gels
Because a marathon isn't just run with the ability to keep fueling the body when fatigue sets in.
Elite running now treats nutrition as a key part of training.
The collaboration between Yomif Kejelcha and Santa Madre conveys a very clear idea: nutrition is no longer a supplement; it's a performance tool.
High-level running is entering a new era; every detail counts: timing, quantities, absorption, caffeine, and strategy.
To better understand all of this, we asked José Luis Mulero @nutre.mule, a sports nutritionist and performance expert:
What the Santa Madre team has achieved with Yomif is incredible: making history in a marathon debut, breaking two hours. This implies that the nutritional protocol during the race was theoretically perfect and executed almost flawlessly in practice.
However, the key was not just on race day.
Nutrition was trained in parallel with the race, allowing Yomif to tolerate a very high hourly carbohydrate intake. (For context, the usual for amateur runners is between 60 and 90 g/h)
This demonstrates that the Santa Madre team has understood something fundamental: nutrition is part of training.
They have used it as another tool to improve performance, and there's something key that cannot be overlooked: nutrition training cannot be left until the last day; it's worked on for weeks so that the body assimilates it and responds correctly on race day.
It's clear: if you don't train your nutrition before your main goal, you're not optimizing your potential 100%.
Available at Beurbanrunning
If you truly want to improve, visit our stores. We will advise you on what best suits you to optimize your performance and help you achieve all your goals in the best possible way.
At Beurbanrunning you can find sports nutrition products for training and competition, as well as advice to properly prepare your long runs and races.
Because today, often, the difference between maintaining pace or hitting the wall at kilometer 35 starts long before the gun goes off.
