Inside a modest office building in Gothenburg, rented from the local university, are meeting rooms named after contemporary endurance running legends: Eliud Kipchoge, Keely Hodgkinson, and most recently, Sabastian Sawe – the Kenyan athlete who just redefined the limits of human endurance.

Sabastian Sawe made history by achieving 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds at the London Marathon on 26/4/2026. Photo: Reuters

When Sawe became the first person to officially run a marathon under two hours in London in april, most attention focused on the Kenyan runner's carbon-plated shoes. However, on Sweden's west coast, Maurten's team of scientists, nutritionists, and technicians believe another factor is equally important: the body's fueling strategy.

"We do not have a megaphone like the shoe industry", Olof Sköld, Maurten co-founder and CEO, said. "The brand is not overly prominent to the public. But among elite athletes and coaches, everyone knows us".

A look at the podiums of major marathons reveals various shoe brands, from adidas and Nike to Asics or On. Amidst this diversity, there is one common thread: since 2018, every world marathon record, for both men and women, has been set by athletes using Maurten's nutrition products. Sawe's 1 hour 59 minutes 30 seconds performance in London is the latest example.

At the London Marathon alone, seven of the eight leading male athletes had official contracts with Maurten, along with five of the six leading female athletes. Many others outside this list are also believed to be covertly using the company's products.

Late last year, Tobias Christensson, Maurten's head of nutrition, hosted Sawe's coach, Claudio Berardelli, at the Gothenburg headquarters. This visit allowed the company to provide a deeper insight into the technology behind its products and its latest research.

The three athletes who finished first, Yomif Kejelcha, Sabastian Sawe, Yomif Kejelcha (from left), at the London Marathon 2026. Photo: Reuters

Founded in 2015, Maurten gained prominence with a sports drink that uses hydrogel to deliver carbohydrates. Initially, this technology aimed to reduce the amount of sugar and acid harmful to oral health in energy drinks. But early trials showed results far exceeding expectations.

Hydrogel encapsulates carbohydrates, allowing them to pass through the stomach and be absorbed directly in the intestine. This enables athletes to consume significantly larger amounts of carbs without experiencing digestive issues, which are common with conventional sports drinks.

"When we tested it with Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes, they said it felt like magic because the drink disappeared in their bodies", Sköld recounted. "For runners weighing only about 50 kg, they clearly feel every drop of water in their stomach. But this makes them feel like they haven't drunk anything at all".

While Maurten acknowledges that absolute scientific evidence for hydrogel technology is still limited, the company states that recent studies highlight the importance of rapid carb supplementation during extremely high-intensity races. One study indicated that marathon runners maintaining a sub-two-hour pace would completely deplete their glycogen stores after about 85 minutes without additional carbohydrate intake.

Maurten's next product is bicarbonate, or baking soda, known for nearly a century for its ability to reduce acid buildup in muscles during intense exercise. However, using bicarbonate often causes severe digestive upset, deterring many from adopting it.

It was not until 2023 that Maurten launched its proprietary bicarbonate system. Priced at approximately 20 USD per dose, the product uses hydrogel to transport dozens of mini bicarbonate pellets through the stomach to the intestine.

Athletes consume the thick, jelly-like mixture with a spoon about two hours before competition, with a strict warning not to chew the pellets. Subsequent blood tests show an increase in pH levels, a factor believed to benefit high-intensity athletic performance.

Maurten believes that real-world data increasingly supports this product. From 2023, when bicarbonate was launched, to 2025, 36 male athletes ran a one mile (1,6 km) in under 3 minutes 49 seconds. In the 12 years prior, despite the emergence of high-tech spikes and modern track surfaces, only nine individuals achieved a similar milestone.

On the morning of the London Marathon, Josh Rowe, Maurten's head of sports technology, entered weather data into a predictive model he developed. The computer's result: Sawe would complete the race in 1 hour 59 minutes 29 seconds, differing by only one second from the actual record.

"The scientist in me thinks it was just luck", Rowe said. But behind that prediction lay a massive amount of data.

In the 14 months leading up to the London Marathon, Maurten's research team spent 32 days across six trips at Sawe's training camp in Kenya. They measured various metrics, including energy expenditure, lactate response, and carbohydrate oxidation capacity.

These tests precisely determined how many carbs Sawe needed to consume during a sub-two-hour marathon and when to supplement them. "The theory is that the gut is like a muscle; the more it is trained, the more efficiently it functions", Rowe explained.

The result was a nearly military-precision fueling plan. Two days before the race, Sawe drank large quantities of Maurten's carb water. On race morning, he consumed the bicarbonate mixture and then an energy gel right at the starting line.

Throughout the race, Sawe consumed exactly 160 ml of drink every 5 km, along with a caffeine gel in the latter half. In total, he absorbed an average of 115 grams of carbohydrates per hour, far exceeding what was once considered the maximum limit before Maurten's advent.

Sköld described the reaction after the London Marathon as "crazy". Although the company collaborates with about 70% of the world's elite marathon athletes, Maurten still received numerous requests from athletes and coaches seeking the "Sawe formula".

Currently, Maurten supports approximately 1.000 athletes, not only in running but also in cycling and triathlon. The M11 Track Club in Manchester, which includes 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and 1.500m indoor world champion Georgia Hunter-Bell, even has a permanent Maurten staff member.

Keely Hodgkinson won the gold medal in the women's 800m at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships at Japan's National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan on 21/9/2025. Photo: Reuters

The company plans to move from its rented office to build its own facility in Gothenburg. "It will be like Willy Wonka's factory, where we create our own world", Sköld said.

He revealed that Maurten has many new products under development but declined to disclose details: "Our philosophy is not to launch anything if it cannot change the market".

According to Maurten, Sawe's performance in London is just the beginning of an era of ultra-fast marathons, as athletes increasingly understand their body's "fueling" capabilities. "I think the future will see incredibly fast marathons", Sköld expressed.

Nevertheless, amidst all the algorithms and hydrogels, Sawe still began his historic day with a simple breakfast of bread and honey. Some fundamental things need no further improvement.

Hong Duy (according to The Guardian)