Hannah Alton's scorecard
Dragon Ride (Gran Fondo)
Sunday 19th June, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 66gCarb per hour
- 388mgSodium per hour
- 527mlFluid per hour
- 736mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 200mgTotal caffeine
How Hannah hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
650ml x PH 1500 (Tablet)
500ml x Meal Replacement Chocolate Flavour (32g carbs)
250ml x Tea
Race - During
3.9L x PH 1000 (Tablets)
12 x PF 30 Gel
2 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
2.5L x Plain water
7 x Energy gel (22g carb)
0.3 x Haribo sweets
0.3 x Doritos
3 x Mini Croissant
6 x New potato (with salt)
6 x Flapjack bites
- Hannah Alton is a female cyclist and member of the Vox Performance Project, a programme supported by Precision Fuel & Hydration. Throughout the project her hope has been, that through cycling, she can show others what’s possible, and make her son proud
- On a mild and overcast day, Hannah competed in the 213km Dragon Ride in Wales, an event with over 3400m elevation. That’s sure to gain her some cool points with her son!
- During the ride, Hannah used a combination of gels and the ‘real’ food options available at aid stations to sensibly fuel her day in the saddle
- This robust strategy resulted in her maintaining an average 17.55km/h speed across the mountainous terrain, finishing in 12 hours 8 mins
Hydration
- Hannah kicked off race day by preloading with 650ml/22oz of PH 1500, something which she has found to make “the most consistent and significant positive difference” since starting to dial in her hydration strategy with the help of the team at PF&H
- Over the last six months on the project, Hannah has done lots of experimenting with her hydration strategy and found that PH 1000 was the right strength electrolyte mix for her
- Therefore, during the ride, Hannah rode with one 650ml/22oz bottle, filled with PH 1000 (Tablet), replenishing it at each of the five aid stations
- Alongside her six bottles of PH 1000, Hannah also estimates that she drank ~2.5L/oz of plain water picked up at aid stations (~500ml/16oz per station) which she drank whilst stationary
- Hannah admitted that she had to rely heavily on the aid stations due to only having room for one bottle on her bike. Unfortunately, this lack of fluid provision whilst riding led to her being “desperately thirsty” on a mountain during one section of the ride
- In total, she drank ~6.4L/216oz of fluid, equating to ~527ml/h (~16oz/h), with an average relative sodium concentration of 736mg/L
- For the cooler conditions, which averaged ~15℃/59°F, these intakes are sensible. Hannah rated her hydration strategy a 7 (out of 10), reflecting that her only problem stemmed from having limited fluid carrying capacity on her bike
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
60-90gcarb per hour during
- Hannah had a fairly light breakfast of a chocolate flavoured meal replacement drink, as she struggles to eat very early in the morning. While these drinks brand themselves as ‘nutritionally complete’, it may prove beneficial to consume it alongside something else rich in carbohydrate. This would top up Hannah’s glycogen stores, allowing her to start the day well fueled
- During the race, Hannah consumed a total of 21 gels, opting to use a mixture of both caffeinated and non-caffeinated options, taking one every half an hour. This approach meant her energy levels were “‘seriously good”, rating them a “strong 8-10”
- Despite Hannah disliking the bitterness of the caffeine gel she used, she noted that they gave her performance a “much needed boost”. There are various mechanisms by which caffeine improves performance
- The use of gels formed the solid ‘backbone’ of Hannah’s fueling strategy. To then see her supplement this with ‘real’ foods, which are more satiating (something which is important in longer events), was great. Hannah chose to eat a variety of foods, from potatoes to Haribo to mini croissants, throughout the day
- Despite her varied menu, Hannah reported no GI issues, which was initially a concern for her using this number of gels. Hannah’s lack of GI trouble is testament to the trialling of her fueling strategy in training, which helps the gut to adapt and tolerate this level of consumption
- In total, she consumed ~799g of carbohydrate, averaging ~66g of carb per hour, an intake which meets the general fueling recommendations for an event of this duration
Conclusions
- Overall this was a great outing for Hannah who, bar one dodgy hip issue, felt great for the vast majority of the day.
- She surprised herself with how much she was able to eat and how good she felt throughout the ride, emphasising the importance of eating much more than she previously had been before joining the Vox Performance Project
- Finally, her hydration and fueling strategy worked well, giving her the confidence to keep on trucking with the knowledge that she wouldn’t bonk. The only adjustment Hannah should make for future long rides is to add a second bottle to her bike to increase fluid availability between aid stations!
Key info
Hannah Alton
Female
Result
Overall Time12:08:18
Event information
SportCycling
DisciplineRoad
EventDragon Ride (Gran Fondo)
LocationPort Talbot, Wales
Date19th June, 2022
Total Distance213.0km / 132.4mi
Total Elevation3,435m / 11,270ft
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsMild
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp11°C / 52°F
Max Temp18°C / 64°F
Avg Temp15°C / 59°F
Humidity65%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction9/10
Hydration rating7/10My only problem was that I only had one water bottle, so was desperately thirsty on one mountain before an aid station
Energy levels9/10At no point did I feel like I was approaching 'a wall' due to fueling
Toilet stopsYesOnce or twice despite the portaloos
GI comfort10/10Literally no issues to my surprise because I was eating an intense amount
CrampingNo cramping
Hannah's Thoughts
My hydration and fueling strategy worked really well and gave me confidence to keep on trucking knowing I was not likely to bonk!
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
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.