British distance runner Jake Smith spent years stuck in a cycle of illness and injury before learning he was under-fuelling.
Jake Smith did everything a committed distance runner is supposed to do: train hard, race often, keep grinding. But the British long-distance athlete was trapped in a brutal loop of racing, getting ill, getting injured, and starting over. What he didn't know was that the culprit had a name: REDs, or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport.
REDs happens when an athlete doesn't take in enough fuel to cover both training demands and the body's basic functions. The shortfall can quietly disrupt hormones, weaken bones, blunt immunity and slow recovery. That is why the warning signs, such as constant colds, nagging niggles and stress injuries, are so easy to mistake for ordinary wear and tear. Smith was under-fuelling without realising it, and his body kept sending the bill.
The condition has long been discussed mostly in relation to female athletes, which means many men never think to look for it. Male runners can be left suffering in silence, putting poor performances down to lack of toughness or bad luck rather than a fuelling problem. Smith's story is a reminder that skipping meals or running on empty is not a badge of honour. It is a risk.
The lesson reaches well beyond one British runner. Anyone chasing times on the track, road or cross country, from club level to the elite ranks, needs to treat nutrition as part of the training plan. If you keep cycling through illness and injury, the problem may not be your training. It may be your plate.
