Bowline CC Charnwood Hills Race

Dave pushed his carb intake past scientific recommendations for a race of this duration but tolerated it comfortably. He had undertaken some serious gut training in the lead up to this race in the hope he could tolerate a high carb intake and keep energy levels up. This preparation paid off, as on race day, he didn’t have any GI issues. With a strong carb intake like this in such a short race, Dave is in a good position physiologically to take this strategy into longer races like his upcoming Jurassic Coast Challenge. Dave also worked hard on carb loading in the days leading up to the race, using it to excuse his double lunch servings in the office! Particularly for a race of this duration, it is extremely important to carb-load effectively in order to maximise energy stores.

It's evident from the cramp Dave experienced in the latter stages that he didn’t quite replace enough of his sweat losses. With his high sweat sodium concentration and relatively high sweat rate from his calculations on the day, it’s crucial for Dave to focus on drinking the right strength electrolyte (and in his case, a high strength one). He should consider increasing his sodium intake for his next race to avoid accumulating a deficit and hopefully prevent the cramping issues he experienced this time around. A simple way to do this would be by switching the Carb and Electrolyte Drink Mix he used for Carb Only Drink Mix and personalising his hydration by using additional PH 1500 (tablets).

Dave used some caffeine to help boost his alertness during the race by having a coffee with his breakfast and a PF 30 Caffeine Gel 15 minutes out from the start. As Dave was slightly under the recommended range of 3-6 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight, he could look to increase his intake slightly to help with the perception of fatigue he experienced towards the back end of the race, and get all of the ergogenic benefits associated with caffeine.