King's Cup British Gravel Championship

We recommend athletes have a final hit of carbs in the 15-20 minutes before starting so they can spare some of their muscle glycogen stores early on. Ruth opted not to do this, a strategy she has previously utilised in her usual sport of triathlon. Over the course of her first gravel race, she took on ~36g/h of carbs which is below what we would typically recommend for a race of this intensity. This meant that she felt her energy levels dropping in the final 30 minutes of the race; however, she was able to dig deep and push through to take the win. Going forward, through increasing her intake with the help of some gut training and logistical planning, Ruth should be able to maintain a higher energy level for the duration of her races.

Ruth has not had a Sweat Test but suspects a high sweat sodium concentration due to previous issues with cramping, to combat this she used PH 1500 (Tablets) in her bottles to achieve an appropriate relative sodium concentration. The conditions for this race were mild, helping Ruth avoid dehydration through a reduced sweat rate; however, in hotter or longer races she should aim to increase her fluid consumption to replace a larger proportion of her sweat loss. She could do this by carrying an additional soft flask meaning she can be self-sufficient with her hydration and doesn’t have to stop at refill stations.

Ruth had a coffee with her breakfast but didn’t take any further doses before or during the event. For events under 3 hours, pre-caffeinating is often sufficient due to the 4-5 hour half life of caffeine in the blood. To maximise the performance benefits of caffeine, Ruth could increase her pre-race intake by having a PH 30 Caffeine Gel in the 30 minutes before she started to ensure the level in her blood gets into the 3-6mg/kg recommended range.