30th

James Phillips' scorecard

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship

Monday 5th September, 2022

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

60g

Carb per hour

385mg

Sodium per hour

272ml

Fluid per hour

1,416mg/L

Relative sodium concentration

2.86mg/kg

Caffeine per bodyweight

How James hit those numbers

How James' hydration and fueling went...

PF&H’s Head of Athlete Support, James AKA “JP”, competed in the ÖtillÖ Swimrun World Championship for the second time, alongside his teammate Ant who was competing for the first time
The pair took on the 70km course, entailing ~61km of running and ~9km of swimming, and finished 30th in 9 hours and 11 minutes. Constantly transitioning from water to land and vice versa provides several challenges when it comes to optimally fueling and hydrating
Being an experienced swimrunner now, JP navigated this well to adequately meet his fuel needs with a range of energy gels. He did however possibly under-do his fluid consumption for the duration of this race as the cold conditions impacted his thirst

Hydration

In such an event, athletes can be quite limited in terms of their hydration, having to rely heavily on the fluid available at aid stations
Knowing that he’s prone to cramping, possesses a high sweat rate when working intensely, and is a salty sweater (with a sweat sodium concentration of 1,850mg/L), JP was mindful to replace his sodium losses in the event. He ran with two 500ml/16oz soft flasks which he emptied one and two PH 1500 Drink Mix sachets into respectively, which he topped up with water during the earlier stages of the race when needed
Once he’d filled and depleted this provision of strong electrolyte mix, James refilled his soft flask three times with plain water, drinking ~2.5L/80oz of fluid in total and averaging ~272ml/9oz per hour across the race
JP’s drinking rate was greatly influenced by where the aid stations were placed, so he didn’t drink as much as he would have liked, saying “I probably underdrank considering the duration of the race”. Fortunately, conditions were relatively cold (average temperature ~12℃/54℉) and JP said, “I never got too warm”
When drinking just plain water in the later stages of the race, JP took five Electrolyte Capsules spread pretty evenly alongside the fluid to ensure he was staying on top of his sodium losses
Ahead of the race, James preloaded with 500ml/16oz of PH 1500 both the night before and on the morning of the race with his breakfast at the hotel. This strategy ensures that he was at least starting in a well-hydrated state, with sodium and fluid levels adequately topped up for the long day ahead

Fueling

Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

30g

carb 30 mins before

30-60g

carb per hour during

James began race day by eating a carb-rich breakfast of porridge alongside a black coffee around two hours before the 6am start
In the final 15 minutes, he also took a PF 30 Caffeine Gel to spike his blood glucose levels and increase his perceived energy levels and focus
To meet his fueling needs, JP carried a large proportion of his own energy supplies. This is recommended for such a long event where on-course provisions can be limited. For James, this included five PF 90 Energy Gels (four of which he took) and two PF 30 Caffeine Gels
His rough plan was to take one PF 90 Gel every ~90 minutes and a Caffeine Gel before each ‘long’ section (e.g. the Pig Swim section, which is a hefty 1.4km swim!)
He also ate two further energy gels (25g carb each) from the aid stations, as well as a couple of squares of chocolate and a small wafer bar
In total, he consumed ~553g of carb across the nine-and-a-bit hours of racing, averaging ~60g of carb per hour, which is an impressive feat considering the time spent in the water (i.e. when eating isn’t an option!)
To put this into perspective, when he first took on the World Champs in 2019, JP averaged ~46g/h and distinctly remembers ‘bonking’, which didn’t happen this time, so he felt happy with his fueling strategy
His intake this year fell within the general recommendations for a race of this intensity and duration (60-90g per hour). Consuming closer to 75g/h would have been optimal as per the guidelines of the PF&H Fueling Planner, but considering the constraints of a race like this which make fueling more difficult, JP did a great job
Post-race, he said “I wouldn’t change my carb intake, except for perhaps a third caffeine gel for the final two hours”

Conclusions

Compared to 2019, whilst he didn’t beat the time he logged, JP made great improvements to his fueling strategy, increasing his carb intake by ~30%
James was content with the race saying that “it could have gone worse, that’s for sure”. He felt the first seven hours were OK but then it started to decline as knee soreness started to kick in following a slip on some rocks
He didn’t suffer any dips in energy levels and in hindsight wouldn’t have changed his strategy a great deal, except for perhaps drinking some more fluid

Key info

James Phillips

Male

70kg

Sweat sodium concentration

1,850mg/L

Sweat sodium classification

Very High

* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test

Result

Position

30th

Overall Time

9:11:32

Event information

Sport

Other

Discipline

Swimrun

Event

ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship

Location

Sandhamn, Sweden

Date

5th September, 2022

Website

Show me

Swim Distance

9.0km / 5.6mi

Run Distance

61.0km / 37.9mi

Total Distance

70.0km / 43.5mi

Event conditions

Weather Conditions

Mild

Precipitation

No Rain

Min Temp

9°C / 48°F

Max Temp

15°C / 59°F

Avg Temp

12°C / 54°F

Humidity

60%

Athlete feedback

Event Satisfaction

7/10

Hydration rating

7/10

Hard to judge sweat rate on the day, I never really felt too warm but did feel cold so probably under drank considering the duration

Energy levels

8/10

Good mood all day and wouldn’t change carb intake I don’t think, maybe one more caffeine gel for the last two hours

Toilet stops

Yes

es, probably 6-7 times

GI comfort

8/10

Pretty good all day

Cramping

No cramping

James' Thoughts

Could have gone worse for sure. A decent 7 hours then it started to suck

James' full stats

	Carbohydrate (g)	Sodium (mg)	Fluid (ml)	Caffeine (mg)	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
Overall
Total intake	553	3,539	2,500	200	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)	1,416
Per hour	60	385	272	22		1,416

Data Confidence

1

2

3

4

5

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).

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