Loch Ness Marathon

Dan’s pre-race intake was excellent; he consumed a carb-rich breakfast prior to the start of the race and topped this off by taking a PF 30 Gel just before toeing the start line. During the race itself, Dan relied solely on PF 30 Gels for his carb intake, sticking to his pre-planned strategy to consume one every 30 minutes. The scientific guidelines suggest that carb intakes of ~90g/h are more advantageous to support endurance performance, particularly during races of this distance and intensity. So, ahead of his future races, Dan could practise some more structured gut training to ensure he can comfortably tolerate the higher intakes of carb without GI discomfort.

Dan relied on the on-course aid stations to pick up plain water across the duration of the marathon. He supplemented the fluid he drank with Electrolyte Capsules to account for the sodium he was losing in his sweat. Unfortunately, he forgot to take any capsules until ~2 hours into the race, where he took three in the hopes of catching up and then another shortly after. Luckily, he didn’t struggle with any cramp in this race, but in future, sticking to his pre-planned strategy to spread his sodium intake out would be beneficial to stay on top of his sweat losses and avoid the negative effects of dehydration.

Dan pre-caffeinated ahead of the race with a coffee around the time of his breakfast. However, he chose not to take on any additional caffeine during the marathon. If he hasn’t already, we would advise him to trial using caffeine in his training to identify if he feels the performance enhancing effects of the stimulant, and if he finds caffeine beneficial, to then implement it consistently during his races.