Ben Thomas
The Gralloch
Galloway4th, MPROBen's headline numbers
Ben's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"Overall, it felt amazing and almost effortless for the first half of the race. I felt like my energy levels could limit me doing much more than the same work rate in the second half, but I didn't need to slow down."
Ben rolled up to the start line of The Gralloch with one of his most aggressive fueling plans to date: 360g of carbohydrate across just over three hours (including the 30g of carb he had pre-race), which averaged out at ~115g/h. His strategy started on race morning, with a familiar carb-rich breakfast and a PF 30 Caffeine Gel just before the start. From there, it was a combination of high-carb bottles (two one litre drink mixes delivering 90g of carbs each) and four gels spaced evenly that kept his energy flowing. Ben’s subjective feedback suggested that until the final sprint, his energy levels weren’t the limiter, and his fueling strategy gave him the chance to race aggressively at the front.
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.
Ben655mg/L
Ben has been Sweat Tested to dial in his hydration plan
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 Ben's losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still crucial when it's hot and/or humid as his higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreDrinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Ben start optimally hydrated
"In the last 30 minutes, there were a few attacks from the lead group and I could feel the fatigue and cramping on the inside of my quads, but this was more a result of the sprinting. "
Hydration often gets overlooked when temperatures are moderate, but it remains just as critical for performance, so Ben didn’t leave it to chance. With a well-thought out hydration strategy, which saw him drink a total of ~2.5L of fluid and ~2500mg of sodium, his intake was sufficient and well-matched to his known sweat fluid and sodium losses. Although a slightly higher relative sodium intake than his losses, this would have helped him retain more of the fluid he consumed and set him up well for the high core temperature associated with intense exercise and racing. Swapping the PH 1000 for PH 1500 with his breakfast will be a more effective pre-loading strategy ahead of future races.
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Ben’s caffeine strategy was fairly simple. He took two PF 30 Caffeine Gels, one before the gun went off and one mid-race. That gave him 200mg caffeine total, or ~2.9mg/kg, just slightly below the threshold for performance benefits. Given the duration of the race, this would have been sufficient to boost his perceived energy levels whilst avoiding the negative side effects sometimes associated with caffeine.
How Ben hit his numbers
Here's everything that Ben ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“It was a four man sprint for the win, and I finished fourth overall. That stings a little, but overall I had a great race and other than the sprint, it was near perfect. ”
“Ben was right in the fight at The Gralloch gravel race. After more than three hours of gritty, tough riding, it came down to a four-man sprint for the win. Ben’s meticulous strategy gave him the tools to be there in the moment. Now it’s about refining those last 10 minutes to close the deal next time.”
PF&HBen's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
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.