Caroline Cotterell
OCC by UTMB
ChamonixCompleted, F55-59Caroline's headline numbers
Caroline's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"The only reason I didn’t rate this a 10/10 was I wished I’d carried some more gels and less chews with me. But, I only had an energy dip in the last 5k of the race which was likely more mental than physical."
Caroline started the race well-fueled after consuming a carb-rich breakfast, as well as a final top-up of a PF 30 Chew just before the 8:30am race start.
Across the 14 hours and 28 minutes, Caroline consumed ~671g of carbs from a variety of sources, including PF 60 Chew Bars, PF 30 Gels, PF 30 Caffeine Gels, some energy bars and real foods picked up at the aid station. Her strength here was the consistency of fueling throughout the day, sticking to a strategy of eating every 30 minutes, exactly as she’d practiced in training - which clearly paid off with a 9/10 energy rating for the day. For her next ultra, building on this to hit closer to ~60g of carbs per hour would help sustain her performance and energy levels further into the race. She noted that her plan was built around chews, though it may be worth using gels earlier in the race, before switching to chews later, to help manage flavour fatigue.
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.
Drinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Caroline start optimally hydrated
"I drank to thirst and felt headaches coming on at points which is when I made a greater attempt to drink more."
Caroline drank over 4.5L during her race, with her drinks mixed to a relative sodium concentration of 1,000mg/L. From conducting thousands of Sweat Tests, we know that the average athlete loses ~991 milligrams of sodium per litre of sweat, so PH 1000 electrolytes - built for moderately salty sweaters - was a sensible starting point in the absence of her own Sweat Test data. While Caroline managed to drink ~320ml/h, she suffered with headaches and that might point to her needing to drink more fluid, especially in hotter or longer races she takes on in the future.
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
Caroline took in five PF 30 Caffeine Gels, staggering her doses so blood caffeine levels were building toward the 3-6mg/kg guidance window around six hours into the race, timed to coincide with caffeine's well-documented ergogenic effects. Her total intake across the race worked out at ~7.9mg/kg - above the general 3-6mg/kg guidance - but because caffeine's half-life is commonly cited at around 4-6 hours, repeat ~2-hourly doses build cumulatively rather than resetting, meaning a higher total doesn't necessarily reflect an equivalently high peak concentration at any single point in the race.
How Caroline hit her numbers
Here's everything that Caroline ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“My mantra was to “just keep fueling” and I think that worked really well to keep my energy levels high throughout the race. My goal was to complete - which I did!”
“Caroline had a strong day out, achieving her goal to complete the ultra. Her stated aim for next time - building a bigger margin from the cut-offs - will be well served by the fueling and hydration adjustments outlined above, and getting more fuel on board is likely to have the most significant outcome.”
PF&HCaroline'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 an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.