Danni Shrosbree
The Traka 360
Girona4th, FPRODanni's headline numbers
Danni's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"When I sat down with the team to plan my strategy for the Traka, we made sure to take into account the shorter route, which was changed because of heavy rainfall, and even then I was quite overwhelmed with all the fuel I was going to have to eat over nearly 14 hours. Annoyingly, in a long unsupported section, both of my PF 90 Gels fell out of my pockets, and I started feeling pretty sluggish. I had to beg friends for spare food and luckily managed to scavenge a mini malt-loaf, some crisps and some sweets to see me through to the next checkpoint."
Danni was aiming to hit ~90g of carb per hour for this race to provide plenty of energy to her muscles. In the end, she drank less than expected and had to think on her feet to replace two ‘Jumbo Gels’. This reduced her carb intake significantly, and she felt the effects of this energy-wise in the latter stages. Going forward, Danni’s going to stick to PF 30 Gels which she personally finds stay in her small race-suit pockets better, and incorporate some more ‘real food’ when the race is over 10 hours, as she enjoyed eating the solids that she picked up along the way.
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.
Danni716mg/L
Danni has been Sweat Tested to dial in her 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 Danni's losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I decided to mix quite a lot of fuel into my hydration pack (90g carb per litre) alongside electrolytes. This meant I was able to access fuel over trickier terrain, but I also got a little tired of having the same flavour in my mouth for over 13 hours. I couldn’t wait to drink some plain water at one aid station. I also drank quite a bit less than expected which is probably because of the milder than anticipated temperatures. "
Danni mentioned that she was extremely thirsty for plain water during this race, which she attributed partly to having some fuel in all of her fluids, as well as getting quite a bit of muddy puddle water sprayed into her mouth along the route (evidence in the photos above). Had Danni drank slightly more plain water, the relative sodium concentration of her intake would have fallen closer to her personal sweat losses too. Going forward, Danni should look to design her strategy to separate fuel from fluid and electrolytes in these really long races, allowing her to have full control over the three levers independently.
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
Danni does habitually use caffeine in her day-to-day life, but timed her intake during this race until the second half which was in the evening. While it would almost certainly have impacted her mental and physical output on the bike positively, she did find it tough to get to sleep after the race, which is something for consideration next time.
How Danni hit her numbers
Here's everything that Danni ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I'm really happy with how I handled the mental challenge of such a long day constantly avoiding water filled holes. It was frustrating to drop two jumbo gels, and I struggled for energy for a while. I definitely need to plan more solids rather than relying on fluid for these really long races.”
“Danni showed everyone once again that she’s one of the most mentally strong competitors on the circuit at the 2024 Traka. After torrential downpours in the days prior to the race, most athletes were dreading the course, but Danni looked forward to the challenge and took the race on accordingly. Had she not dropped her PF 90 Gels, her strategy would have looked quite different, however we’ll look to collaboratively change the strategy design to include more real foods which she craved in the latter stages here.”
PF&HDanni'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 some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.