How refining his marathon training made Cam Levins a 'stronger, more mature runner'

Backed by strong training, Cam Levins believed he was fit and ready to perform well in the 2020 men's Olympic marathon, despite the soaring heat in Sapporo, Japan. It didn't take long to realize he was wrong.

Levins wasn't comfortable early on and struggled to accelerate out of drinking stations. He was only one second behind the lead runner through 10 kilometres but decided to lose contact with the front pack near the 21.1 km halfway mark "when it was obvious" the race was over for him.

On Aug. 8, 2021, the Canadian men's record holder faded down the stretch and finished 71st in a field of 106 in two hours 28 minutes 43 seconds, nearly 10 minutes behind top Canadian Ben Preisner of Milton, Ont.

"I was certain I was far more fit than I was," Levins said in an interview with CBC Sports before returning to Japan for this weekend's Tokyo Marathon. "It was an important race as far as being able to reflect on something and learn from.

"It's easy to see how much I've been able to grow since then."

Levins and coach Jim Finlayson took a closer look at his marathon build, having previously determined the 33-year-old had a nutrition problem and was underfuelling before races.

Levins dropped out of the 2020 London Marathon, saying his body didn't handle the cool and wet conditions well. Through 35 km, the Black Creek, B.C., native was on pace to finish 5-100ths of a second off his then-2:09:25 Canadian record. Levins also fell off record pace three weeks later in the Marathon Project in Arizona.

Fuelling up on carbohydrates before and during exercise is important to prevent a decline in liver glycogen — the body's main energy source for exercising at race pace — and help delay fatigue or hitting the classic marathon wall.

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