What Causes the ‘Hunger Games’ Feeling During a Race?

The ‘Hunger Games’ feeling during a race happens when your body starts working really hard and needs more energy fast.

Imagine you're on a playground swing. At first, it's easy, you just push a little to go higher. But as you keep going, you have to push harder and faster, or you’ll start slowing down. That’s like what happens in a race when your body runs out of its favorite fuel, called sugar.

Your body uses sugar, which comes from the food you eat, to keep running fast. When you run, your muscles use that sugar quickly. If you have enough sugar stored up, like having a big bag of candies ready to go, you can keep going strong.

But if you don’t have much sugar left, it’s like your candy bag is almost empty. Your body has to switch to using fat for energy instead. Fat is slower to use, so you might feel like you’re running in slow motion, that's when the ‘Hunger Games’ feeling comes in, and it feels like you're fighting for survival just to keep going!