Chris Palfreyman's scorecard
Dirty Reiver
Saturday 23rd April, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 79gCarb per hour
- 384mgSodium per hour
- 368mlFluid per hour
- 1,045mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 0.13mg/kgCaffeine per bodyweight
How Chris hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablet)
1 x Bowl of porridge
Race - During
500ml x PH 1000 (Tablets)
2L x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
6 x PF 30 Gel
4 x PF 30 Chews
5 x Energy bar (25g carb)
80ml x Cola
- Chris Palfreyman, a high performance triathlon coach and gravel rider, recently completed the Dirty Reiver 200km ride. This Kielder Castle based event consisted of ~3000m elevation, which certainly made for a challenging day out
- Fueling and hydration during gravel racing is sometimes a challenging affair, especially for 7 hours in the saddle. Even so, Chris managed a largely appropriate fuel and hydration intake for his needs and despite experiencing cramps while on the bike for the first time in his life, secured a strong 8th position after a final dash to the line
Hydration
- Pre-loading using a PH 1500 (Tablet) alongside his high carbohydrate breakfast, gave Chris the best chance of starting the race optimally hydrated and fueled, with his blood plasma volume nicely topped up, thus reducing the cardiovascular load of exercise
- His fluid intake on the bike mainly consisted of four 500ml/16oz bottles of PF 30 Energy Drink Mix which provided him with a total of ~2000mg of sodium and ~120g of carb to sustain his energy levels and help him keep pedalling
- He also utilised aid stations well, by picking up ~500ml/16oz water to mix with a PH 1000 (Tablet) as well as one cup of Coca Cola
- However, Chris did experience some cramping on the bike for the first time in his life, putting it down to the “relentless" hills - he highlighted that carrying some additional Electrolyte Capsules may be a good plan for future events to help prevent this, something which anecdotally can be a good way of keeping cramps at bay short term
- Chris has previously determined his sweat sodium concentration via our Sweat Test, with a result on the lower end, at 573mg/L. With this in mind, he put himself in a strong position by achieving a relative sodium concentration during the race of ~1,045mg/L
- It’s worth noting that he only drank ~368ml/13oz of fluid per hour which may have contributed to the cramping he experienced. If it hadn’t been for such cool temperatures (10°C/50°F) this intake could have presented further issues associated with dehydration during his prolonged time on the trails
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
60-90gcarb per hour during
- Chris’ fueling strategy went well, managing to reach ~79g carb per hour throughout the seven hour race (8g/h higher than our previous case study with him). Eating this amount of carb was a great effort considering the terrain he was cycling over, and certainly contributed to his reported energy levels of 9 (out of 10)
- His fueling consisted mainly of PF 30 Gels, PF 30 Energy Drink Mix, PF 30 Chews and some mini energy bars (25g carb). Consuming a large proportion of his carb through his drinks is something that Chris has done in previous races to overcome the logistical challenges presented by gravel terrain racing
- We’re unsure what Chris’ stance on caffeine consumption is, however, for a lot of athletes the inclusion of this into a race fueling plan is likely to reap several ergogenic benefits, both peripherally and centrally. This could be in the form of a pre-race coffee, and a couple of PF 30 Caffeine Gels spaced throughout the race for an additional energy (and focus) boost
Conclusions
- In general, Chris was very happy with his race, seizing the opportunity to finish 8th
- He subjectively reported that his fueling strategy felt like it “was a massive help”, rating the intake “excellent for little old me”
- He also mentioned that his hydration strategy was “great most of the time”, except for experiencing a few cramps. To combat this in future he’ll take some Electrolyte Capsules in his back pocket to top up his sodium levels
- Fueling wise, Chris was very satisfied as he knows he gets “to have another go next year with an improved strategy”. We certainly can’t wait to see the results!
Key info
Chris Palfreyman
Male62kg
Sweat sodium concentration573mg/L
Sweat sodium classificationLow
* determined by our Sweat Test
Result
Position8th
Overall Time7:01:00
Event information
SportCycling
DisciplineGravel
EventDirty Reiver
LocationKielder, England
Date23rd April, 2022
Total Distance200.0km / 124.3mi
Total Elevation3,002m / 9,849ft
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsCold
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp7°C / 45°F
Max Temp11°C / 52°F
Avg Temp9°C / 48°F
Humidity90%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction8/10
Hydration rating7/10It was great most of the time, apart from the cramps, the hills were relentless!
Energy levels9/10As good as I could hope for
Toilet stopsNoI did pee about 15 minutes post finish line. Best part of the day
GI comfort10/10No discomfort whatsoever
CrampingMild cramps that I could push through
Chris' Thoughts
I do think the cramps inhibited me slightly, but I'm still very satisfied as I know I get to have another go next year with an improved fuelling strategy
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).