1st
Mads Pedersen's scorecard
ECA Canoe Marathon European Championships
Saturday 30th July, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
58g
Carb per hour
720mg
Sodium per hour
720ml
Fluid per hour
1,000mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
100mg
Total caffeine
How Mads hit those numbers
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablet)
1 x Bowl of oats
1 x Banana
1 x Glass of plain water
1 x Glass of juice
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
1.5L x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
How Mads' hydration and fueling went...
- Competing in his home country, Mads continued with his winning streak by securing two gold medals, winning both the short and long course races to add the title of Marathon European Champion to his long list of accolades
- With a nail biting finish, Mads managed to execute a great performance during the 29.8km course finishing in a time of two hours and five minutes (just 1.55 seconds in front of second place!)
- As we have seen him do previously, Mads used drink bags which hung around his neck whilst paddling to fuel, which again proved very effective
Hydration
- After competing in the short course race just two days beforehand, Mads knew that he needed to rehydrate himself effectively to start the marathon well hydrated, with maximal blood plasma volume. He did this by drinking ~500ml/16oz PH 1500 throughout the morning alongside some water and juice
- During the race, Mads adopted a similar strategy to the one he executed at his Canoe Marathon World Cup where he picked up his ~500ml/16oz drink bags containing PF 30 Drink Mix from the on-course portages. This time around, instead of finishing two and a half bags of drink mix, he dialed this up to three bags due to the warmer temperatures in Denmark (average temperature ~22℃/ 71°F) compared to Prague (average temperature ~14℃/ 57°F)
- This provided him with a total of ~1.5 litres (~52oz) of PF 30 Drink Mix; averaging ~750ml/24oz per hour which is the most we’ve seen him drink in a race. This higher hourly intake also meant Mads increased his sodium intake to ~750mg/h compared to the ~591mg/h and ~479mg/L we’ve seen from him previously
- But considering his increased fluid intake and that he mixed his PF 30 Drink Mix as directed, Mads continued to replace a good proportion of his losses by keeping the relative sodium concentration of his intake at ~1,000mg/L
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
30-60g
carb per hour during
- At 7:30am, Mads started the day by eating his breakfast which consisted of a bowl of oats with oat milk ahead of his short 2km warm up. He then topped up his glycogen stores further with a carb-rich lunch of pasta and noodles before the race started at 1:15pm.
- In the last hour before racing, Mads took on board a caffeine hit of ~100mg and another 100mg in the form of a PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the last 30 minutes before the start. This was in line with our recommended pre-race caffeine dose (learn more here) and allowed him to go into the race with increased perceived energy levels
- Whilst working with Mads, we have been striving for a higher carb intake in an attempt to elicit a higher intensity performance and in this race Mads hit the highest carb intake we’ve seen yet (~58g/h)! As a result of increasing his intake of PF 30 Drink Mix to ~1.5L/52oz, Mads was able to hit this carb intake and most importantly had no stomach discomfort and “felt super energised” and “very strong” throughout
- During the race, Mads mentioned that his original plan was to take his third and final bag of PF 30 Drink Mix at the 4th portage. However, during the race he started to break away from his competitors, and was “too busy paddling” to stop at the fourth portage. Luckily he found himself at the fifth stop ahead of schedule, so was able to pick up the fluid there
Conclusions
- Together, we've been able to build a solid plan which Mads could adjust on race day to cater for the hotter conditions and secure the gold in both the short and long course races at the European Championships
- It was brilliant to see Mads hit the highest fluid, sodium and carb numbers in a race yet, which is impressive considering the logistical difficulties of fueling and hydrating in such an intense environment
Key info
Mads Pedersen
Male
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
2:05:23
Event information
Sport
Other
Discipline
Paddling
Event
ECA Canoe Marathon European Championships
Location
Silkeborg, Denmark
Date
30th July, 2022
Website
Total Distance
29.8km / 18.5mi
Event conditions
Weather Conditions
Hot
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
21°C / 70°F
Max Temp
23°C / 73°F
Avg Temp
22°C / 72°F
Humidity
56%
Athlete feedback
Energy levels
10/10
I had good energy levels all the way, felt very strong
Toilet stops
No
GI comfort
10/10
No issues at all
Cramping
No cramping
Mads' full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 120 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 100 | 1,000 |
| Per hour | 58 | 720 | 720 | 48 | |
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).