• John returned to Oklahoma for his third Mid South Gravel race to claim his best spot yet - placing 2nd after another thrilling, muddy 100 miler that once again ended in a sprint finish
• With 12 months more experience under his belt, an optimised, well-tested fuel and hydration strategy and his signature ponytail, John excelled to finish 19 minutes quicker than in 2022
• The main difference in his nutrition from 2022 to 2023 was a more concise strategy that allowed him to significantly increase his average carbohydrate intake from ~76g/h to ~110g/h!

Hydration

• We’ve seen John consume a range of fluids in the morning of previous races, this time was slightly more streamlined with an espresso and a black coffee to get some caffeine on board in an attempt to harness some of its performance-enhancing qualities, ~355ml (12oz) of water and ~500ml (16oz) of PH 1500 in a effort to start optimally hydrated
• To avoid the plain water diluting the relative sodium concentration he was taking on board before the race, John could have gone without the additional water as it may have negated the hyper-hydrating effects of pre-loading
• During the four and a half hour race, John drank an average of ~701ml (21oz) per hour. This mainly came in the form of PF 60 Drink Mix and PH 1000
• Overall his fluid intake was ~24% higher than during the cooler conditions at last year’s Mid South race where John’s sweat losses would likely have been lower
• John did not pee during the race, but reflecting on his strategy he would have started with some bigger bottles because he found himself dragging out his bottles to last him to the feed station. Therefore, he may have benefitted from slightly more fluid early on in the race; it would be beneficial for John to undertake some sweat rate data collection to get a handle on whether the level of fluid he is drinking is replacing a good proportion of his sweat losses at race intensity or not
• The electrolytes within his bottles provided him with a relative sodium concentration of ~1291mg/L, which is around 2-3 times the strength of most commercially available effervescent electrolyte tablets. For John, this concentration is entirely appropriate, due to the fact that he loses 1310mg/L (mg/32oz) as found by doing a Sweat Test, and he was replacing a good proportion of his electrolyte losses
• Despite doing his best to prevent the onset of electrolyte related cramping with an individualised hydration strategy, John experienced cramping from around 2 hours 45 minutes into the race
• Many factors have been linked to the onset of cramp, including electrolyte depletion and neuromuscular stimulation and fatigue. With a normalised power of 334W over the race, John ‘raced hard from the gun’ and admitting he hadn’t done much high intensity training prior to his first race of the season, the high muscle demand and therefore fatigue could have played a role
• With temperatures spiking at 28℃/82℉, not drinking as much as he felt he needed to early in the race, alongside his high sweat losses, could have meant John was dehydrated which potentially played a key part in his cramping. Therefore, it is crucial John undertakes some sweat rate data collection to determine the correct fluid intake he should be aiming for in these race conditions

Fueling

Conclusions

• Having significantly increased his carbohydrate intake, and therefore energy levels for the 2023 Mid South Gravel Race, John was very pleased with his podium spot especially given that he was mainly using the race to test his legs for the season ahead
• Going forwards, John can start to nail his hydration strategy by getting an idea of his fluid loss in training, using sweat rate testing
• Rating his race satisfaction as an 8 (out of 10) he is happy with where his fitness currently is, but felt the win could have been his if he’d paced it a little better, being pipped to the line by just one second
• We look forward to seeing what John can achieve throughout the rest of this season and if he can improve further to claim the top spot in 2024!