Anna Brown
Spartathlon
Anna's headline numbers
Anna'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.
Anna averaged a solid carb intake at Spartathlon, and in the first half of the race she was much closer to the 60g/h recommendation for a race of this duration and intensity. However, due to pain in her feet and having to walk more than expected, the lower intensity encouraged Anna to eat less fuel. The silver lining was rating her GI comfort a 7 out of 10, which is an improvement compared to her previous races. During ultramarathons like this, it’s worth considering incorporating ‘real’ foods and not just solely using gels and drink mix, in an attempt to attenuate flavour fatigue. Anna did this well in this race, as up until when she started walking, she was hitting close to her carb target from a variety of fuel sources.
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 Anna’s losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still crucial when it’s hot and/or humid as her higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreNot long before flying out to Greece for Spartathlon, Anna got a Sweat Test to help dial in her hydration strategy. These results, combined with some sweat rate data collection, helped her build an individualised plan. Similar to her fueling, Anna started off the race better than she finished it, replacing a larger proportion of her losses in the first half. She reported peeing 3 or 4 times during the race, with the last time being Sunday morning, which is a good reflection of when she began feeling dehydrated. Despite using ice and water as cooling strategies, Anna’s core temperature was likely quite high as she subjectively reported feeling like she had sun-stroke. Considering this was towards the end of the race, and that Anna has previously suffered earlier on in races from the heat, it’s testament to an improved hydration strategy. For future races, she should increase her sodium intake to more closely match her losses and maintain this throughout the whole race, as this will help her retain more of the water she is drinking, further preventing the dehydration-related symptoms she experienced.
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.
Anna’s caffeine intake fell within the recommended range and came largely through her consumption of cola. In future races, Anna could strategically time her caffeine intake so that she maximises the ergogenic benefits of the stimulant for when she needs it most, such as overnight when she’s fighting her body’s natural circadian rhythm.
How Anna hit her numbers
Here's everything that Anna ate and drank on the day...
Anna's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Anna
PF&HAnna's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.