ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships

James has been training his gut to comfortably take on higher quantities of carbs (>60g/h) while also testing which products and concentrations are best to do this with. At the World Champs, he chose to implement concentrated drinks bags of PF Carb Only Drink Mix, 90g in his first and 60g in the second, to reach the recommendations and sustain his energy levels across the intense 2 hour race. He had the option of a third carb-rich bag but sensibly had an alternative hydration-focused back up bag. Having fueled effectively throughout the day and early in the race, he felt full so made the choice to pick up the bag of PH 1000, allowing him to finish strongly with no stomach issues.

James drank a very similar volume of fluid compared to earlier this year at the European Champs, 1.45L and 1.5L respectively, in similar mild-warm conditions. He knew this quantity from three drinks bags would again be sufficient to support his performance and keep up with his sweat losses. The key refinement in his hydration strategy came from individualising his sodium replacement using data from a Sweat Test at PF&H HQ. He used PH 1500 pre-race and in his first drinks bag, followed by PH 1000 in the final bag. Alongside his bag of solely Carb Only Drink Mix, this meant the relative sodium concentration of his intake was similar to what he would have been losing in his sweat, aiding fluid retention and replacing his sweat sodium losses.

As a habitual coffee drinker, James began his day with a latte. But unlike some of his competitors, he chose not to include further caffeine later in the day, possibly with recovery and sleep in mind ahead of more races. Still, a top-up such as in the form of a PF 30 Caffeine Gel pre-race may have provided a useful cognitive and perceptual boost that could be worth testing out next time.