Our Biosensor Helping Finish Strong

With the Abbott World Marathon Majors, the world's first sport glucose biosensor is helping them finish strong.

Products and Innovation|Sep. 27, 2021

In competition, it's not about how you start. It's about how you finish.

Not just, Can you finish?

Can you finish … strong.

That's always true in marathons. It's especially so of this year's set of Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM), which — because of the continued fallout of COVID-19 — has seen their schedule bunched up near 2021's finish line.

  • Berlin on Sept. 26
  • London on Oct. 3
  • Then over the Atlantic to Chicago on Oct. 10
  • Boston the next day, Oct. 11
  • And, finally, New York on Nov. 7

... covering 131 miles over two continents and seven time zones in the span of 43 days.

And that doesn't include the first big marathons of this year at the better-late-than-never Tokyo Olympics in August as well as the virtual Tokyo marathon from Sept. 18 to Oct. 16.

So, while it's always about how you finish, it never hurts to get off to a good start, one built on preparation.

Take Eliud Kipchoge.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist (including at Tokyo) and first human to record a sub-2-hour time over 26.2 miles, Kipchoge prepared for the Games with Abbott’s biosensor, the world's first glucose sport biosensor.1

Our small, round biosensor (approximately the size of two quarters) is worn on the back of the upper arm. For up to 14 days, the biosensor provides real-time glucose values through a mobile app1 and wrist readers.2 

And just as other Olympic hopefuls like Great Britain's Jenny Nesbitt have their sites on making future Games and are using our biosensor in their prep — "Just seeing what fuel or food works better for me. So it's just changing a few things I've taken on board since I started using it. Learning what my body does in response to fuels and gels and drinks on long runs will be invaluable. I can really see its value there going forward," Nesbitt said. — so too are elite marathoners bracing for the gantlet of this year's majors.

Take Fabienne Schlumpf (above), professional Swiss runner and two-time Olympian, who had this to say about how our biowearable technology is aiding her prep:

  • "I used it in the marathon preparation for my Olympic qualification. It was very exciting and sometimes surprising to see how certain factors influence my glucose level. Based on the data analysis, I have adjusted my breakfast to better meet my needs."

And take Philipp Baar (below), SCC Events Pro Team Runner:

  • "When using the biosensor, the most interesting thing for me was to see how my glucose levels changed with long and long hard exertion. During long endurance runs or long interval sessions, I could see that the intake of (good) carbohydrate-containing drinks caused the glucose levels to rise quickly and thus a decrease in performance could be prevented."
  • "I was able to call up my performance in training in a stable way and thus plan the training better. This was helpful when carrying out important core training sessions well and to be able to avoid periods of weakness such as a bonk."
  • "The biggest change for me was that I added more protein and healthy fats to my diet. Often with healthy meals, which were nevertheless very carbohydrate-heavy, I could see that my glucose rose sharply, but then quickly dropped again. So, I started to include more nuts (including nut butter), but also soy yoghurts and similar products to my meals. The additional protein and fats then ensured that the glucose levels rose less quickly and also dropped again less quickly. The curves flattened out. This is especially important before and after training."

And with the help of our biowearable technology, they aim to finish, and finish stronger.

 Abbott's biosensor is not a medical device. It is not intended for use in the screening, diagnosis, treatment, cure, mitigation, prevention or monitoring of disease. It is available across eight European countries: Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The product is not available in the United States.

Abbott is the title sponsor of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, Virgin Money London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.

References
1Biosensor is designed to work with compatible partner mobile apps.
2The biosensor is designed to automatically stream glucose data every minute, via Bluetooth® wireless technology, and it is designed to work with compatible mobile apps and wrist readers (wrist readers are currently in development).