• Sam put out a great performance in his second ever full distance IRONMAN event in Cairns. In the heat (~24℃/75℉), he claimed a podium spot in a very quick time alongside some more experienced long course competitors
• He adjusted a tried and tested 70.3 hydration and fueling strategy and built on this prior IRONMAN experience (from which no case study data exists) to suit the forecast conditions and longer duration of the race. He was happy with the plan and his result after the race, rating his race satisfaction 8 (out of 10)

Hydration

• On this occasion, Sam chose to prehydrate by sipping on some plain water in the morning of the race. Generally, we would recommend preloading with at least some PH 1500, as we have seen him do previously but understand that this was decided in consultation with his coach. For future hot races we’d like to discuss some element of preloading with the understanding that excess sodium loading is not desirable
• During the bike leg, Sam’s strategy involved starting out with two 750ml/25oz bottles containing two PH 1000 (Tablets) each and then picking up water on course to top up his bottles and drink alongside Electrolyte Capsules
• Then on the run, Sam picked up a small flask in T2 containing a PH 1000 (Tablet) and drank a couple of mouthfuls of water at each aid station; and a mouthful of Coca Cola at aid stations during the second half of the marathon
• In total, this meant Sam drank ~7.2L/243oz over the 8 hour race, which equates to an average of ~894ml fluid per hour (~30oz/h), higher than we have seen him drink in his 70.3 races. This worked out to be ~1L/32oz per hour on the bike and ~931ml/h (31oz/h) on the run. We expected to see this, as it’s easier to hydrate on the bike than the run, logistically speaking
• Sam said “I drank a lot more than I had anticipated and I was consciously trying to drink more than I do in a 70.3”. This reasonably aggressive strategy to hit ~1L/h (~32oz/h) over the bike and run proved effective in the hot conditions to make sure he was replacing a decent amount of his net losses over the IRONMAN
• Despite drinking this volume of fluid during the race, Sam didn’t pee. We would often expect an athlete to pee a couple of times in a race of this duration which can indicate they have not under hydrated. But, we have seen a few high level athletes, and Sam himself, not pee during many successful races so it’s not always a prerequisite for a positive outcome
• In terms of sodium, using PH 1000 and Electrolyte Capsules throughout the race meant that Sam took on ~464mg/h, which meant the relative sodium concentration of his intake was ~519mg/L. Sam’s sweat sodium losses are on the lower side so this would likely have replaced an appropriate proportion of his sodium losses
• On the run, Sam’s sodium concentration was a lower ~185mg/L due to picking up more plain water. He could consider having some further Electrolyte Capsules to replace a greater proportion of his sodium losses on the run, especially during even hotter races (e.g. Kona), to avoid any performance decline that can result from building up a deficit
• Very positively, he didn’t experience any cramping over the course of the race (usual for Sam) and was happy with his overall hydration strategy

Fueling

Conclusions

• Sam executed a well adapted hydration and fueling plan at IM Cairns to support his fantastic performance. Adjusting to the longer duration, high intensity and warm conditions of the race, we saw Sam impressively hit higher carb and fluid numbers than in any of his 70.3’s that we have analysed, albeit there is ‘headroom’ to push carb intake up further on the run specifically
• Ahead of further full distance races in the future, Sam should continue trialling his race fueling strategy in simulation training sessions to be able to tolerate a high carb intake on the run leg, as we are seeing more professional athletes achieve, and to avoid the dip he experienced at the end of the race
• Some specific workouts in ‘Kona specific’ conditions will be incredibly helpful in dialling in both hydration and fuelling for the Big Dance in October