1st
Andy Sloan's scorecard
The Oner - 84 Miles
Saturday 1st April, 2023
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
74g
Carb per hour
1,053mg
Sodium per hour
801ml
Fluid per hour
1,314mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
864mg
Total caffeine
How Andy hit those numbers
500ml x PH 1500
80g x Oats with milk + water
3 x Scrambled Eggs
1 x Banana
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablets)
1 x Chocolate Bar (27g carb)
1 x Protein Cookie (31g carb)
8L x PH 1500 (Tablets)
12 x PH Electrolyte Capsule
6 x PF 30 Gel
2 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
4 x PF 30 Chews
6 x PF 90 Gel
4L x Plain water
200ml x Red Bull
4 x Peanut Chocolate bar
3 x Caffeine tablet (200mg caffeine)
3 x Protein Nut Bar (26g carb)
How Andy's hydration and fueling went...
- Andy is an ultra runner from Dorset in England who took part in The Oner, an 84-mile (135.2km) race from the town of Charmouth to Studland, along the Jurassic Coast, in the UK
- Approaching this race with an achilles injury and ‘sub-optimal’ training volume in his legs, Andy planned to only run 20 or 30 miles of the course before calling it a day. In the heat of the moment, he decided that he felt better than expected and would battle through to the finish line. In doing so, he managed to break his own course record (which he set on his debut in the race) and take home 1st place once again!
Hydration
- As an experienced ultra marathoner, who has suffered from debilitating cramps in previous races, Andy knew that preloading with PH 1500 ahead of the race would ensure he started optimally hydrated and give him a head start against dehydration or electrolyte-depletion related cramping
- Andy also mainly relied on PH 1500 (tablets) throughout the race for his fluid, drinking 8 litres (282oz) of it during his 16 hour run. He was confident in increasing his fluid intake around half way through the race when he saw the colour of his urine become slightly darker
- His PH 1500, alongside the use of 12 Electrolyte Capsules and some plain water resulted in Andy drinking ~801ml (27oz) of fluid per hour, and achieving a relative sodium concentration of ~1,314mg/L (mg/32oz) for the race
- While this is significantly more sodium per litre (32oz) than Andy loses through his sweat (859mg per litre / 32oz), he personally finds that this ‘aggressive’ approach to electrolyte replacement helps avoid muscular cramping
- For example, during this race, Andy mentioned that he started to feel some twinges of cramp coming on. He decided to consume four Electrolyte Capsules and never felt the twinges again. This helped Andy feel more in control of his race, and meant he was able to rate his hydration strategy a 9 (out of 10) (because according to Andy, ‘nothing is ever perfect’)
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
30-60g
carb per hour during
- Because Andy didn’t think he was going to be completing this race when he started it, he didn’t pre-mix his PF 90 Gels in amongst his Softflask fluids like he usually would for a race of this length and intensity
- Instead, he separated his fuel from his electrolytes and fluid, and mixed up the format of his energy intake between sports nutrition, like the PF 30 Gel, and more real foods like chocolate and nut bars to help satiate him through the latter stages of the race
- Unfortunately, due to his achilles injury, Andy made the mistake of taking naproxen (anti-inflammatory) tablets. One side-effect of this which impacted him was the urgent need to go to the toilet during the last 30 miles of coast path. He thinks without this impairment he could have shaved another 30-45 minutes off the course record, and would have rated his gastrointestinal comfort far better than he did (4 out of 10)
- Impressively, having prepared his support crew member for the miniscule possibility of him surpassing 30 miles, Andy was able to fuel himself adequately and averaged ~78g of carb per hour
- This aligned well with the Fuel & Hydration Planner’s 75g per hour recommendation for someone racing to their limit over this distance. Happily, having all of this available energy meant Andy was able to rate his strategy as a strong 9 (out of 10)
- Caffeine is an important tool for ultra-distance competitors, especially when the events mean they’re running through the night. Andy made sure he was getting every ounce of performance benefit from caffeine by spreading an intake of ~864mg out through the event, via caffeine tablets and PF 30 Caffeine Gels
- This could certainly have put him over the general performance recommendation of 3-6mg per kilo of bodyweight, if taken all at once. However, over such a long period of time it would have kept him topped up nicely to help reduce his perceived exertion
Conclusions
- Andy did incredibly well to finish in 1st place in the 2023 ‘Oner’, breaking his own course record in the process
- Comfortably hitting his carb, fluid and electrolyte targets throughout the 15:51:28 race, Andy was pleased that he had done a good job in the circumstances, and rated his satisfaction as a 9 (out of 10)
- Andy knows that he should avoid taking anti inflammatories during his future races in order to gain back some toilet time. Looking forward, he’s eyeing up a couple of ‘smaller’ ultra events, and maybe a Hyrox event or two. Although the 200kg (440lbs) sled push may have to wait until after his achilles rehab
Key info
Andy Sloan
Male
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
15:51:28
Event information
Sport
Running
Discipline
Ultra
Event
The Oner - 84 Miles
Location
Dorset, England
Date
1st April, 2023
Website
Total Distance
135.2km / 84.0mi
Total Elevation
2,743m / 8,999ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
7°C / 45°F
Max Temp
13°C / 55°F
Avg Temp
8°C / 46°F
Humidity
80%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
9/10
Hydration rating
9/10
Nothing is ever perfect, but this is the first race I've ever done where I haven't sufffered from major cramps.
Energy levels
9/10
I was flagging a little bit before some solid food overnight, then felt a bit tired again with around 4 hours to go
Toilet stops
Yes
I needed to pee several times, when it went a bit darker in colour I made sure to drink more PH 1500 and it went straight back to clear.
GI comfort
4/10
I was really comfortable until I took 5 Naproxen to help my injured achilles pain. This resulted in multiple unexpected toilet stops through the last 20 miles.
Cramping
No cramping
Andy's Thoughts
I did a really good job, but without those toilet stops I think I could knock another 30-45 minutes off of the record, especially considering my injury and low training volume leading into the race.
Andy's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 1,180 | 16,692 | 12,700 | 864 | 1,314 |
| Per hour | 74 | 1,053 | 801 | 55 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is low confidence in the accuracy of the numbers reported. The intake reflects a rough guide to what an athlete consumed but quantities volumes or specific brands might be unknown. It is a loose insight into what the athlete did but the room for error is high-to-very high. This level of confidence most likely reflects the nature of the event (for example an ultramarathon 24 hour or multi-stage event).