Western States® 100-Mile Endurance Run

Caleb conquered his first 100-mile race at Western States, and knew beforehand that fueling adequately could be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful debut. He practised his planned race nutrition at his ultra in Madeira earlier in 2024, which paid off with interest at WSER where he never deviated from his planned ~100g per hour, using small Flow Flasks of ice cold Flow Gel. Since PF&H Sports Scientist, Minty, was on the ground helping crew Caleb, he was able to weigh every bottle and gel before the race, and collect them at every crewed aid station (seven total) to track his intake, and be ready to adjust the plan if necessary. Thankfully, Caleb’s extensive gut training meant he never had to change his strategy, and relied entirely on sports nutrition products from gun-to-tape; culminating in the fastest ever Western States debut time, which would have won 46 of the previous 48 editions.

Even though Caleb has a relatively low sweat sodium concentration, considering the duration of the event and his relatively high sweat rate, he chose to slightly ‘over-salt’ his drinks using PH 1000. He alternated between Packets and Tablets depending on how he felt at the time and if he needed the extra bit of carb in the Packets. He then diluted this with plenty of plain water at uncrewed aid stations. Caleb also carried several Electrolyte Capsules to take when drinking plain water to stay on top of his sodium intake, but felt he was balancing his electrolytes well, so only took three throughout the race. Temperatures reached a scorching 36℃ (97℉) between miles 65-80 (105-129 km), and Caleb knew his sweat rate would be significantly higher than during the opening miles where conditions were far milder (~7℃, 45℉). Whilst his average fluid intake was ~886ml/h, at times he was drinking <350ml/h, with peaks of >1.1L/h. Without doubt this flexible hydration strategy helped him stave off dehydration, avoid GI discomfort completely and enabled him to pee fairly soon after the race in doping control!

Caleb has been working on adding caffeine to his strategy since joining the PF&H squad, and this race was the first where he felt he crushed it. Having been sensitive to the stimulant in early trials, Caleb would see heart rate spikes, feel anxious, and sometimes like his efforts were much harder than normal. But through trial-and-error and a ‘drip-feed’ approach, he found himself coming into aid stations asking for Caffeine Gels more often than ever before, reaping the perceptual ergogenic benefits all day long.