The Speed Project Chile

Aaron’s original plan was to consume 60g carb per hour, alternating between sports nutrition products, like PF 30 Gels and PF 30 Chews and ‘real food’ sources, like energy bars and fruit, as well as larger meal stops (~400-500kcal) every few hours. While he was able to stick to and keep track of this well on day one, he unfortunately had pretty extensive GI issues starting the first night and extending into the following days, which he put down mostly to altitude. Because of this, he had to divert from his original structured plan, relying much more on liquid calories whilst moving, and then spaced-out fueling stops with calorie-dense (~500-800kcal) meals. So, the numbers breakdown in this case study covers the first day before the wheels came off and he was forced to play things by ear to keep moving! Overall though, he accomplished his plan on day one well, especially considering that the stomach issues started ~30 miles (~48km) into the run. Using a variety of food products helped attenuate flavour fatigue, and the smoothies during meal stops enabled him to get a larger amount of calories through energy-dense carb sources, such as honey and jam, as well as fat sources like peanut butter.

Even though Aaron preloaded effectively with a strong electrolyte, it sounds like the altitude effects impacted his energy levels (and hydration status because of the vomiting) more than expected and more than could be restored by his proactive hydration strategy. Still, Aaron’s high rating of his hydration strategy is reflected in his consistent fluid intake throughout the race, particularly on his first day where he drank continuously and stayed topped up on electrolytes. As an individual who loses below the average amount of salt in his sweat, it was easier to get in the sodium he needed, and the amount he consumed through food sources contributed to this, as well. He carried a 2L bladder of plain water to keep fluids coming in when he was running solo and also had a 500ml (~16oz) bottle to which he added PF Carb Only Drink Mix, PH 500 or PH 1500. Overall though, he used mostly Electrolyte Capsules for his sodium intake, popping one every 45 minutes for most of the first day. As the race went on, using mainly capsules allowed him to drink ample plain water and adjust his sodium intake according to how much he was drinking. For multi-day events like this one, this ‘decoupled’ strategy can be useful because fluid intake varies so much depending on your running effort level, and the environmental conditions.

After restricting caffeine for ~10 days before the race, Aaron planned to hold off on any doses until day two. However, as he approached the night at the end of day one (nearing 17.5 hours of racing), Aaron decided to take a PF 30 Caffeine Gel to help fight natural circadian rhythms. While the dosage fell below the recommended range of 3-6mg/kg of body weight to maximise the performance enhancing effect, the small amount may have still been enough to give a small boost whilst Aaron ran through the night. Later into the race, he increased his caffeine intake further to hopefully maximise the effects but likely pushed too far as he experienced negative symptoms (including hallucinations, staggering and altered vision) that he largely attributes to this ‘overdose’. Caffeine usage during multi-day events is tricky because saving the effects for when you need it most is a wise strategy but it’s also easy to overdo it once you start!