Dublin Marathon

Adam has been dialling in his marathon fueling strategy for many years, working with the Sports Scientists at PF&H. Having been a competitive IRONMAN triathlete, Adam has already trained his gut to a point where it is able to tolerate a high carb intake. Adam’s issue now is finding the ‘Goldilocks’ amount for him when marathon running. It can’t be so much that it interrupts his ‘flow’ (opening packets or slowing to pick up bottles) but it needs to be enough to provide ample energy for his working muscles. While the ~77g per hour in Dublin is significantly better than we observed during his 2021 Newport Marathon (~26g/h) and 2022 Manchester Marathon (~39g/h), his subjective feedback and the current scientific literature suggests he might benefit from slightly increasing his intake further to ~90g per hour.

After the 2022 Dublin Marathon, Adam made a significant change to his hydration strategy by introducing preloading with a serving of strong electrolytes. He has found that he feels well-hydrated at the startline as a result, and hasn’t had the same strong urge to drink during the race, which previously led him to drink an additional ~1.5L (48oz) of fluid unnecessarily at the same race the year before. While Adam is a ‘low salt sweater’, we would still recommend taking some electrolytes during his race as they can positively impact fluid retention and mitigate significant blood plasma sodium changes.

Adam took a PF 30 Caffeine Gel during the race, which provided 100mg of caffeine. The coffee he had with breakfast also contributed to his caffeine intake, impacting his perceived exertion and level of focus due to its long half-life. The science suggests in order to make the most out of these benefits, Adam could have increased his intake by swapping out one or both of his regular PF 30 Gels for caffeinated alternatives.