2010 Atlantic City Marathon

Creating the Perfect 2010 Atlantic City Marathon Coffee Blend

 Last year my wife and I were honored to be commissioned by the organizer of the 2009 Atlantic City Marathon to create a special blend of coffee for the race. Along with that honor we supplied all the coffee for the runners and crew.

What came out of that was the now famous “AC on the Run” blend. We are pleased, once again, to be selected as the official coffee sponsor for the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon which, by all accounts, will be multiple times larger than last year.

Since then, the coffee bean crops we used have changed and the main ingredient for last year’s blend – an aged 2006 Sumatra – is no longer available. So we set out to create the perfect 2010 Atlantic City Marathon blend. Creating a special coffee for a marathon, like the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon is different than creating a morning blend for a coffee house.

There are some other special considerations such as; pre-race benefits, post-race muscle rejuvenation and post-race pain relief. Pre-race Benefits for the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon Back in the 70’s a landmark study was conducted by Dave Costill on a group of cyclists who were able to ride 21 minutes longer after ingesting caffeine.

This has lead to several more studies on the effects of caffeine on athletes which seems to have concluded:

1. That caffeine in coffee does not appear to benefit shorter term, intense exercise like sprinting.

2. That caffeine in coffee can enhance performance in endurance sports like running.

3. The caffeine in coffee does lower the rating of perceive exertion (RPE) in athletes which results in less fatigue in those studied, and

4. That caffeine causes Glycogen, muscle fuel, to be depleted less in the first 15 minutes of exercise thus available during the later stages of a race.

On a side note, the International Olympic committee considers caffeine a performance enhancing drug and limits urinary levels in its athletes to 12 micrograms/ml – equivalent to eight cups of coffee. This is a good indication that caffeine, like that found in coffee, can enhance longer-term athletic performance.

Post-race Benefits for the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon

If a coffee roaster told you that drinking a cup of java after a rigorous workout would help replenish your muscles and even help your performance the next day, you’d probably think he’d been drinking too much of his own inventory.

But what if a prominent researcher found that athletes like those who run in the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon who consumed carbohydrates and caffeine had 66% more glycogen in their muscles four hours after finishing an exercise as opposed to those who consumed just carbohydrates – would you believe it then?

“If you have 66% more fuel for the next day's training or competition, there is absolutely no question you will go farther or faster," said Dr. John A. Hawley, the senior author of the study published by the American Physiological Society.

So take if from the doc – drink coffee with carbohydrates after a long race and replenish your muscles. Post-race Pain for the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon There have been several studies done on the effects of caffeine, like that found in coffee, on muscle soreness and pain after high-intensity exercise.

One notable study was published in the Science Daily, April 2007, by Robert Motl, professor of kinesiology and community health for the University of Illinois. He surmised that, “caffeine works on the adenosine neuromodulatory system in the brain and spinal cord, and this system is heavily involved in pain processing." Since he knew caffeine blocks the adenosine from working, he figured that it could also reduce pain.

In short, his research concluded that, “…caffeine reduces pain reliably, consistently during cycling, across different intensities, across different people and different characteristics.” His later studies found that caffeine had the same effect on those who were habitual consumers (April 2007, Science Daily).

So a cuppa Joe after an intense workout is just what the “doctor” is ordering.

Building the Perfect Blend for the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon With this information we were ready to build our perfect 2010 Atlantic City Marathon Coffee blend. So we knew the coffee needed to be caffeine rich, so the beans had to be roasted lighter. It had to have a full body to hold up to the carbohydrates (milk and sugar) that the runners will likely be adding.

It must taste good, well, because it must taste good. And finally, we’ll need a whole lot of it to quench the thirst of up to 7000 runners and crew in the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon. We mixed and match exotic origins from coffee estates all over the world but were not satisfied.

Then this past Tuesday, July 7, we nailed it! I tell you folks we really nailed it. A medium roasted blend with high caffeine content and a rich, full-bodied flavor that will rival even last year’s coffee. It has an earthy beginning with a smooth, almost sweet finish with no acidic aftertaste. It is truly a work of art. So what do we call a gem like this?

We call it Atlantic City Rolling Thunder – like the sound of 7000 2010 Atlantic City Marathon runners starting their 26 mile journey down the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon Boardwalk. I can’t wait for October.

Mark and Trish Devlin are micro-roasters of fine Arabica coffees. They roast to order by the pound and mail directly to your front door step.

For more information on Kona Coffee and other Hawaiian Coffees, visit them at www.highergroundscoffeecompany.biz

Continue to watch for more information on the 2010 Atlantic City Marathon on our website!