In the cutthroat world of elite distance running, athletes are always hunting for marginal gains—small tweaks in training or diet that can unlock big performance jumps.
As Jonathan Gault highlighted in his recent piece for LetsRun.com, Hobbs Kessler, America’s freshly minted indoor champion in both the 1500m and 3000m, appears to have found his competitive edge somewhere completely unexpected: the snack aisles of Costco.
At just 21, Kessler has quickly ascended the ranks of American middle-distance running, notably finishing fifth in the fastest-ever Olympic 1500m final in 2024.
But what’s his secret? Forget high-tech gels or meticulously engineered sports bars—it’s Rice Krispies Treats and good ol’ Country Time Lemonade.
After intense workouts, Kessler’s go-to recovery snacks could double as treats at an elementary school picnic: Rice Krispies Treats, fruit snacks, applesauce, and lemonade. He even jokes about needing weekly trunk clean-outs just to manage the pile-up of empty wrappers.
“I normally just go to Costco and I don’t really have a preferred brand, I just go get sugary snacks and grab a few of them,” Kessler says. “I just have a huge bag sitting at home that I just reach in and grab something random.”
While this might make nutritionists cringe, Kessler swears it’s a key to his newfound athletic jump.
The lightbulb moment came during a late-2023 conversation with Geoff Burns, a sports physiologist and elite ultrarunner working with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, as detailed by Gault.
Burns preached the gospel of immediate carb replenishment—not the usual leisurely half-hour, but within five to ten minutes post-workout. “Carbs are king,” Burns reminded Kessler. Post-exercise, muscles become sugar-starved and eager to soak up glycogen like thirsty sponges.
“I think one of the most important things, if not the single most important thing a runner can do to stay injury-free is just to be well-fueled all the time,” Burns says. “People talk about, say, a 30-minute window or whatever. I’m more of a proponent of a 5-10 minute window. Literally, as soon as you stop your watch, you need to have a plan for getting ample amounts of carbohydrates in your body.”
Previously, Kessler’s fueling strategy was casual—too casual.
He’d finish tough sessions and then leisurely wait for his next meal. Burns quickly saw that Kessler was leaving significant gains on the table.
“I’d finish a workout and I would just kind of wait until the next meal,” Kessler said. “So normally I’d go home and eat. But sometimes if you’re going to a restaurant or cooking, it’s upwards of an hour…There was nothing deliberate or intentional about my approach.”
Once Kessler shifted to rapid post-workout carb intake via sugary snacks and lemonade, he started running faster than ever before. “I’m pretty religious about my routines,” Kessler laughs. “They’ve made such a huge difference.”
Though nutrition purists might scoff, Burns points out that Rice Krispies Treats aren’t the nutritional villains they seem. They offer a surprisingly effective mix of simple and complex carbs for speedy glycogen replacement.
Dietitian Maddie Harris concurs in Gault’s original article: “Our bodies aren’t nitpicking about sugar sources. Whether it’s lemonade or some fancy sports drink—it’s sugar, and your muscles will happily take it.”
Interestingly, Kessler isn’t the first elite runner hooked on this supermarket lemonade.
Cam Levins, the Canadian marathon record holder, also credited Country Time Lemonade with fueling his record-setting runs. Perhaps Costco should start targeting endurance athletes alongside budget-conscious families.
Of course, Kessler’s sugar-fueled strategy inevitably raises eyebrows regarding long-term health.
Triathlon star Lionel Sanders famously faced prediabetes after years of indiscriminate carb loading.
Yet Kessler’s approach is notably different. Unlike Sanders, he’s not mindlessly guzzling sugar all day; he’s deliberately using carbs as strategic workout fuel, then returning to a balanced diet off-track.
Harris explains the nuance clearly: “It’s not that sugar itself is evil; it’s about when and why you’re using it.”
Kessler seems to have mastered this subtle art.
Kessler’s quirky fueling regimen has even rubbed off on fellow elite runners, including Bryce Hoppel, America’s 800-meter record holder, who now downs lemonade and Rice Krispies Treats after workouts. It seems the snack aisle may be the next great frontier in performance nutrition.
Still, Kessler isn’t advocating athletes everywhere ditch traditional protein shakes and kale smoothies.
Instead, his story playfully highlights that sometimes, performance breakthroughs don’t require fancy Danish labs or wallet-draining products. “It’s part of the job,” Kessler insists. “I’m on the clock until I’ve downed my snacks.”
Perhaps the lesson here is simple: when it comes to nutrition, sometimes thinking outside the “energy bar” box—and reaching for something gooey and marshmallowy instead—might be exactly the quirky edge you need.
