How many Big Macs does it take to fuel a marathon?
About 5 Big MacsA marathon burns about 2,954 kcal, and a Big Mac has 590 kcal.
It takes about 5 Big Macs.
How we worked it out
A marathon burns about 2,954 kcal, and a Big Mac has 590 kcal. A 70 kg runner burns about 70 kcal per km. Calories from nutrition labels. Real life adds a little friction and waste, so treat the number as a solid ballpark rather than a lab result. The constants behind every experiment are on the science page.
Watch it happen
This was one of the five experiments in It Took #3. In the game you guess first, then the experiment plays out with your number: too few and it fails, too many and it overshoots.
Play It Took #3Play today’s experiments
More running fuel questions
- How many bananas does it take to fuel a 5 km run? About 3.
- How many Oreos does it take to fuel a 5 km run? About 7.
- How many glazed donuts does it take to fuel a marathon? About 16.
- How many glasses of milk does it take to fuel a marathon? About 20.
- How many bananas does it take to fuel a marathon? About 28.
- How many M&M's does it take to fuel a marathon? About 740.