Mammoth Trail Fest 50km

Lauren started race morning off with some easily digestable carbs, before heading to the start line. She planned to take a combination of PF 300 Flow Gel, PF 30 Gels and some on-course energy gels to avoid carrying too much, which would weigh her down. She consumed slightly more carb than she had done previously at Western States, but less than we know athletes of her level could do. Given the performance benefits associated with higher carbohydrate availability, Lauren should aim to increase her intake slightly to be closer to the 90g/h recommendation, which would better support her efforts whilst also improving her recovery. Lauren could achieve this by consuming an additional flask of PF Carb Only Drink Mix or by increasing the amount of PF 300 Flow Gel that she consumes. With some regular gut training Lauren should have no issue both digesting and tolerating higher carb intakes.

Lauren consumed a very low fluid intake during this race and, given the warm conditions, it’s unlikely she replaced enough of her sweat losses. The cramping she experienced towards the end of the race was probably due to a couple of factors: firstly a lack of water from avoiding the last couple of aid stations, and secondly the increase in pace as she attempted to catch the lead female. Given Lauren’s higher than average sweat sodium concentration, the Electrolyte Capsules and small amount of sodium found in a couple of the on-course energy gels were likely insufficient to support her sweat losses. It would benefit Lauren to increase her electrolytes in future races to more closely support her individual losses and potentially avoid cramping. Some additional Electrolyte Capsules, or swapping to the PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix would help to do this.

Lauren used a couple of PF 30 Caffeine Gels to hit a caffeine intake in line with the recommended guidelines to reap the ergogenic benefits the stimulant has to offer. An additional PF 30 Caffeine Gel pre-race could be beneficial to both top up her glycogen stores and kick start the fatigue-masking effects of caffeine earlier on in her race.