The Lap

Anne worked closely with the Sports Science Team ahead of the race to fine-tune her nutrition strategy, learning the importance of effective carb loading. In the days leading up to the event, she implemented a structured carb load using carb-based drink mixes to boost overall intake. Using drinks to top up carbohydrate intake can be an easy and effective way to increase your total grams without feeling overly full or relying solely on large portions of food. During the race, she fueled consistently with a wide range of products, both from aid stations and those she carried herself. This variety helped combat flavour fatigue, a common issue in such long events. However, as the race wore on, Anne found it increasingly difficult to stomach dry or dense foods like energy bars. For future ultra-distance races, we’d recommend incorporating some gels and more drink mix into her fueling plan, especially as the race goes on. While she had a good range of food sources, her carbohydrate intake came exclusively from solid food sources. Gels could offer a convenient alternative, especially during tougher sections of the course to continue to his her carb goals. Overall, Anne consumed a solid amount of fuel to keep her feeling strong throughout. Depending on the duration and intensity of her future races, pushing this closer to 75g/h could help her unlock even greater performance benefits.

Anne has struggled with cramping in several past races, so for The Lap, she implemented both a sodium preload and used PH 1500 electrolytes during the race in an effort to mitigate against this. Despite these proactive steps and consuming a very high relative sodium concentration, she still experienced cramps on the course. While electrolyte imbalance is one of the leading causes of muscle cramps, multiple mechanisms have been shown to play a part. One being neuromuscular fatigue: as muscles become overworked, the communication between nerves and muscle fibers can misfire, triggering cramps. Even the repeated impact of downhill running can be enough to provoke cramping in fatigued muscles. Anne took proactive steps to replace her sodium losses during the race, but there's still room to fine-tune her overall hydration strategy. Measuring her sweat rate could help her better match fluid intake to individual losses and ensure she's not only replacing sodium but also drinking enough to stay optimally hydrated.

Aside from a single cup of caffeinated energy drink from an aid station, Anne didn’t supplement with any caffeine before or during the race. There’s strong evidence supporting caffeine’s ability to enhance endurance performance, particularly by reducing perceived effort and mental fatigue. However, its use ultimately comes down to personal preference. In this race, Anne chose not to include caffeine in her strategy. She generally avoids it altogether - never drinks coffee or tea - as she finds it too stimulating and disruptive to her sleep.