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How many glasses of milk does it take to fuel a marathon?

About 20 glasses of milkA marathon burns about 2,954 kcal, and a glass of milk has 149 kcal.

It takes about 20 glasses of milk.

How we worked it out

A marathon burns about 2,954 kcal, and a glass of milk has 149 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 #8. 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 #8Play today’s experiments

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