Chris Rainsford
Seville Marathon
SevilleTop 100, M30-34Chris' headline numbers
Chris' strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I had a slight sticky spell with my energy shortly before halfway but I think this was due to fluctuations in the pace coinciding with the elevation changes."
Chris managed to stick to his fueling plan throughout the race to maintain his energy levels. He successfully navigated a slight drop in energy towards the halfway mark and got his energy levels back up to finish strong. Chris admitted that he didn’t practise his fueling strategy prior to the race, and had only consumed a maximum of three PF 30 Gels during his longer training runs. Ahead of future races, we would recommend he includes some targeted gut training sessions to minimise the risk of any GI upset, despite not having any issues in this particular race in these conditions.
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.
T - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I didn’t experience any issues or cramping during most of the race, so I’m happy with how my hydration strategy went."
Chris used the elite athlete aid stations (placed every 5km) to collect his own bottles. He took regular sips of PH 1000 as a ‘chaser’ with his gels. Thankfully, Chris had no issues with cramping until the last ~300m, which was likely due to a quick increase in pace to the finish line. This suggests he stuck to his fluid targets and nailed his hydration strategy. Based on his performance, subjective feedback and ability to tolerate this volume of fluid, we wouldn't recommend Chris alters anything.
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.
Consuming caffeine in the hours before the start may have increased perceived energy levels
Chris had a minimal amount of caffeine on race day. He had a small cup of coffee on the morning of the race but chose not to take any further amount whilst running. Even though caffeinated products are commonly used in endurance sports for their ergogenic benefits, it’s important for each athlete to work out if caffeine is right for them. The potential side effects experienced by some may outweigh the ergogenic benefits in Chris’s case, for instance. Having trialled using caffeine in some of his training sessions, he may want to revisit this aspect of his nutrition, paying particular attention to dosing within the recommended 3-6 milligrams per kg of bodyweight, increasing his dose gradually over time.
How Chris hit his numbers
Here's everything that Chris ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I ran the race I knew I was capable of on the day, and my ability to stick to my hydration and fueling strategy on course contributed to that.”
“Chris nailed his fuel and hydration strategy during the marathon and had a great race. Going forward, we would recommend he practises his race day fueling in training to help increase his tolerance to the volume of carbohydrates he is consuming, despite not having any gut issues. Particularly if he has other races coming up with different weather conditions, undergoing gut training in these environments could help ensure he tolerates his planned intake regardless of circumstances. Additionally we would recommend spending time understanding how his body responds to caffeine on a less ad-hoc basis, and whether he would benefit from implementing this into his strategy for future races.”
PF&HChris' 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.