Adam Bowden
Newport Marathon
Adam's headline numbers
Adam's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Adam’s carbohydrate intake was ~26g/h, significantly below recommendations suggested from the PF&H Fuel & Hydration Planner. Although the race start was early and Adam ate a carb-rich breakfast, he could consider taking a PF 30 Gel or PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the final 30 minutes before the gun goes off to get a final 30g carb ‘hit’ before the race which will help top off his glycogen stores. He could consider either carrying more PF 30 Gels and start using those earlier, or to carry a PF 90 Gel and sip on that regularly throughout future marathon efforts.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Whilst Adam’s losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreAdam consumed ~214ml of fluid per hour which is within common recommendations considering the conditions in Wales. He ensured he started hydrated by preloading with 1 x PH 1500 (Tablet) in one litre of water, although we’d recommend using one tablet in ~500ml of water to maintain the relative sodium concentration of the drink. In future races, particularly when conditions are hotter, Adam should consider carrying some Electrolyte Capsules with him, so that he can continue to adequately replace his sweat sodium losses (778 mg/L) and avoid any hydration-related issues that could impact performance.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
Other than the coffee consumed with his breakfast, Adam didn’t consume any more caffeine. He could consider exploring the benefits of using caffeine during training sessions, aiming for that recommended 3-6 mg/kg, and consider adding caffeine gels to his race strategy if he finds he gets on well with them.
How Adam hit his numbers
Here's everything that Adam ate and drank on the day...
Adam's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HAdam's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).