Ruth Astle
King's Cup British Gravel Championship
Suffolk1st, FPRORuth's headline numbers
Ruth's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
Ruth would benefit from taking in a final dose of carb <30 minutes before
"I felt really good throughout the race, but in the last half hour I had to dig really deep."
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.
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.
T - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I could have benefitted from having more water, but I didn’t want to stop at the refill station, luckily it wasn’t too hot so I was alright this time. "
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.
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
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.
How Ruth hit her numbers
Here's everything that Ruth ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I was just treating it as a bit of fun, so the result was unexpected - but everything went better than I thought it would.”
“Gravel racing throws up unique fueling challenges which Ruth adapted to. To improve her strategy, she could practice with higher doses of caffeine and a greater carb intake. For this race, Ruth kept it simple with what she could carry, and it powered her to the win.”
PF&HRuth'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 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).