Brad Williams
Jurassic Coast Challenge
Weymouth6th, M35-39Brad's headline numbers
Brad's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"My stomach felt good even with the high amount of fuel I consumed across the three days."
Brad’s high energy rating was likely due to his consistent, impressive levels of fuelling across the three-day race. Due to the multi-day format of this race, he was also able to refuel between stages and opted for high-carb foods which included pasta and bread. Brad had no GI issues or distress and managed to successfully tolerate an average of ~105g/h carb using a variety of products, reaping the benefits of practicing a high carb intake during his training leading up to race day.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Brad1002mg/L
Brad has been Sweat Tested to dial in his hydration plan
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Whilst Brad's losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I would probably try to adjust my fluid intake more quickly in future in line with temperature changes and the weather throughout."
Brad’s fluid strategy ensured he started each day optimally hydrated by preloading with a PH 1500 (Tablet) each morning and using PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix during each day to replace his moderate sweat sodium losses. Despite lower temperatures and unfavourable weather conditions for two of the three days, the final race day was warmer and Brad may have benefited from increasing his fluid intake slightly to account for a higher sweat rate at this point where he felt dehydration was starting to take its toll.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Despite Brad’s higher-than-normal total caffeine intake, across the race his daily caffeine consumption sat below the scientific recommendations for performance enhancement at ~2.5mg/kg. We would recommend that Brad aims to increase this during future races to maximise the ergogenic benefits associated with caffeine. Irrespective of this, Brad successfully pre-caffeinated with caffeine using PF 30 Caffeine Gels to keep fatigue at bay and maintain his high-perceived energy levels.
How Brad hit his numbers
Here's everything that Brad ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I am very happy with how the entire race played out. I didn't come across any specific issues… other than navigating the mud and flooding, not something I’m used to, being from Washington, D.C.!”
“After a few last-minute tips from the PF&H Sport Science team, Brad implemented an effective fuel and hydration strategy to see him through three gruelling days of mud, rain and a lot of elevation. In future, he may look to optimise his strategy by adjusting it to match the changing conditions throughout and by more closely monitoring his caffeine usage. It was a pleasure for the PF&H team to support Brad’s incredible effort across the weekend and cheer him on as he sprinted (or maybe just hobbled) to the finish line!”
PF&HBrad's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
There is a high level of confidence in the accuracy in the data. The numbers presented are believed to be a very close reflection of reality. There may still be one or two estimations made in the data (an inescapable part of field data) but there is reason to believe that these are accurate and that possible error has been kept to a minimum. It is data that has been collected and recalled as accurately as is possible given the uncontrolled settings/circumstances.