< Back to case studies
Pro
1st

Adam Bowden's scorecard

Newport Marathon

Sunday 24th October, 2021

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

  • 26g

    Carb per hour
  • 0mg

    Sodium per hour
  • 214ml

    Fluid per hour
  • 0mg/L

    Relative sodium concentration
  • 0mg

    Total caffeine
  • How Adam hit those numbers

    finish
    star
    bottle
     
    1 x Porridge with milk, raisins and honey
    1L x PH1500 (Tablet)
    1 x Coffee
     
     
    2 x PF 30 Gel
    500ml x Plain water
     

    How Adam's hydration and fueling went...

      • Adam, a professional long-distance triathlete, had a hugely successful race at the Newport marathon in Wales in what was his debut marathon race. He not only clocked a hugely impressive time of 02:20:06 but also broke the course record
      • Whilst his fueling and hydration numbers aren’t optimally in line with what the science would recommend, he fuelled and hydrated well ahead of the race which limited the negative effects of running ‘light’ during the race

    Hydration

      • Adam preloaded the race by consuming 1L/32oz PH 1500 which will have ensured he was toeing the start line in a well-hydrated state
      • He subsidised this by consuming ~500ml/16oz of water picked up at aid stations across the course of the race. It was a cool day in the UK, sitting at around 12ºC/54ºF, and so conditions wouldn’t have been driving high sweat rates
      • On average, this equated to an average fluid consumption of ~214ml/hr (~8oz/hr). Adam could have upped his fluid consumption somewhat during this race - in an ideal world closer to ~400ml/hr (~14oz/hr) - but given the mild conditions he was able to get away with sipping on fluids at a rate that met his thirst and felt comfortable

    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 carb as we would recommend, however the race start was early and he ate a good carb-rich breakfast consisting of porridge, honey and fruit
      • Adam used PF 30 Energy Gels as his fuel source for the marathon. He sipped each gel, taking one at 60 minutes and the second around 1h 40min
      • Across the marathon, this strategy meant Adam consumed an average of ~26g carb per hour. This is significantly below what the Quick Carb Calculator would recommend for optimal marathon fuelling
      • Adam could have benefited from taking a couple more energy gels on board during the race, starting earlier and increasing the frequency of consumption to every 25-30 minutes

    Conclusions

      • Heading into the race, Adam knew that he had good legs and the day was about seeing what he could pull out the bag. He had earmarked a 02:25 finish time as being realistic but was hoping for more on the day. Adam smashed this time, finishing in 02:20:06, taking the win and breaking the course record
      • His carb, sodium and fluid numbers are on the lower side of what would be expected for optimal performance but conditions were favourable for sodium and fluid to be light and Adam fuelled well ahead of the event which negated any dire need to aggressively fuel during the run

    Key info

    Adam Bowden

    Male
    Sweat sodium concentration
    778mg/L
    Sweat sodium classification
    Low
    * determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test

    Result

    Position
    1st
    Overall Time
    2:20:06

    Event information

    Sport
    Running
    Discipline
    Marathon
    Event
    Newport Marathon
    Location
    Newport, Wales
    Date
    24th October, 2021
    Website
    Total Distance
    42.2km / 26.2mi

    Race conditions

    Weather Conditions
    Mild
    Precipitation
    No Rain
    Min Temp
    11°C / 52°F
    Max Temp
    13°C / 55°F
    Avg Temp
    12°C / 54°F
    Humidity
    85%

    Athlete feedback

    Race Satisfaction
    10/10
    Cramping
    No cramping

    Adam's full stats

     Carbohydrate (g)Sodium (mg)Fluid (ml)Caffeine (mg)Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
    Overall
    Total intake60050000
    Per hour2602140

    Data Confidence

    marker-icon

    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).

    Adam's recent case studies

    see all

    Related case studies

    Nail your next event with a FREE Fuel & Hydration Plan
    Get started