12th
Adam Bowden's scorecard
Manchester Marathon
Sunday 3rd April, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
39g
Carb per hour
0mg
Sodium per hour
219ml
Fluid per hour
0mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
0mg
Total caffeine
How Adam hit those numbers
1L x PF 30 Energy Drink Mix
2 x Porridge Pots (45g)
1 x Small coffee
1 x PF 90 Energy Gel
500ml x Plain water
How Adam's hydration and fueling went...
- Adam enjoyed a brilliant race at the Manchester Marathon, where he clocked an impressive personal record of 02:17:18 (3:15min/km) and crossed the line in 12th place. This was just his second ever (standalone) marathon and we can’t wait to see what more Adam can do in this discipline after switching his focus from racing elite triathlons to long-distance running this season
- As we saw in his 2021 Newport Marathon, Adam’s fueling and hydration during the race wasn’t what would be considered optimal for a marathon of this pace but, like before, his pre-race preparations reduced the effect of him running a little ‘light’
- That said, this time round Adam had intended to take on more carbohydrate and fluid during the race but suffered a stitch which unfortunately limited his ability to eat and drink
Hydration
- Adam didn’t preload prior to this race in the conventional way (i.e. PH 1500 in 500ml/16oz drunk ~90 minutes before the race start) but he did drink 1L/32oz of the PF 30 Drink Mix in the hours before the start which delivers the equivalent of 1,000mg/L of sodium as well as 30g of carb per serving
- This, on top of drinking PH 1500 the night before alongside his dinner, put his hydration in a good place ahead of the marathon
- The conditions on the day were mild, around 9ºC/48ºF, so hydration wasn’t a huge challenge for Adam as his sweat losses were low during his 2 hours and 17 minutes on course. Therefore, his strategy for the race was to pick up water from the on-course aid stations as and when he felt he needed some
- In total, he picked up six small cups which equated to ~500ml/16oz in total and ~219ml/7oz per hour. For this race, this was an appropriate strategy which regulated Adam’s thirst. On reflection, Adam did feel as though he could have drunk a bit more but the stitch he was managing became more severe when he took on fluid so he had to strike a careful balance
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Adam didn’t consume a final dose of 30g of carbohydrate in the 30 minutes before the race start. The Quick Carb Calculator recommends this final dose before the start, although whether an athlete chooses to do this is determined by personal preference and by how well they’ve fueled in the hours before
- Before the race, Adam ate a carb-rich breakfast of porridge and 1L/32oz of PF 30 Energy Drink alongside a small coffee which negated the need for that final carbohydrate hit. This was on top of his carb-heavy dinner of pasta the night before which all-in-all stood him in good stead and with high glycogen levels before he toed the start line
- During the marathon, Adam raced with 1 x PF 90 Energy Gel in his hand and a ‘back-up’ PF 30 Energy Gel in his race belt. The intention was to consume the PF 90 Gel over the first 12 miles, collect another one from the Elite Men’s aid station at the halfway point and to not touch the PF 30 Energy Gel (unless in an emergency!)
- Despite the good intentions, this didn’t quite come off in practice and Adam ended up running with his starting PF 90 Gel until ~17 miles, taking a mouthful every couple of kilometres, and therefore he missed picking up the second PF 90 Gel from the aid station, thinking he’d use the PF 30 Gel later on instead
- Unfortunately, Adam started to get a nasty stitch which was made worse whenever he tried to eat or drink and so he didn’t end up taking his back-pocket gel
- He doesn’t believe that the stitch was caused by his fueling or hydration strategy per se, though he did find eating and drinking interfered with his breathing whilst trying to maintain his pace and thinks this might have played a factor
- As a result, across the marathon, Adam consumed an average of ~39g carb per hour. This is below the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommendations of 60-90g/h and Adam’s pre-planned target for fueling, but is an improvement on what we saw him hit at Newport last year (~26g/h)
- Other notable positives from this race were that Adam started fueling earlier; choosing to drip-feed his stomach from a couple of kilometers in
Conclusions
- Adam enjoyed a great marathon at Manchester, a course which is known for its lack of elevation and a history of producing fast times. Adam was no exception and he was pleased to break his previous PR by more than 3 minutes
- Adam built on his marathon fueling strategy from last year and did increase his total carb intake across the race as per our recommendations
- Overall, his carbs, sodium and fluid intake were on the lighter side of our recommendations for a marathon at this pace but nailing his pre-race intake meant Adam pulled off a brilliant performance despite managing a nasty stitch for a proportion of the race
- Ahead of his next marathon, Adam is going to work on practicing taking his fuel whilst running at race pace
Key info
Adam Bowden
Male
Sweat sodium concentration
778mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Low
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
12th
Overall Time
2:17:18
Event information
Sport
Running
Discipline
Marathon
Event
Manchester Marathon
Location
Manchester, England
Date
3rd April, 2022
Website
Total Distance
42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Elevation
54m / 177ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
8°C / 46°F
Max Temp
10°C / 50°F
Avg Temp
9°C / 48°F
Humidity
80%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
10/10
Hydration rating
5/10
Energy levels
9/10
No dips in energy
Toilet stops
No
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
No cramping
Adam's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 90 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 0 |
| Per hour | 39 | 0 | 219 | 0 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands, flavours, quantities, plausible estimations of volumes). However, there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.