Javelina Jundred

Devon averaged ~76g of carbohydrate per hour over 14 hours in Arizona. Although current guidance for events longer than 2.5 hours is 60 to 90 g/h, as a professional athlete, running at a fast pace across the 100 mile race, 90g/h of carbohydrates would have supported her energy levels and performance far better. Three PF 90 Gels in the first ~20 mile lap put her at ~97g/h, and she then held ~85g/h through laps 2 and 3, even though by then gels had lost their appeal as flavour fatigue took its toll. That's very common in an ultra, so Devon started to incorporate more cola, ginger ale and energy drinks from the aid stations. Her lap 4 eased to ~70g/h but stayed consistent, helping her maintain pace and avoid any dips in energy. During the last lap, her intake dropped out of the recommended range to ~47g/h, likely due to logistics and fatigue, as this was over 10 hours into the race. This didn't slow her down, in fact, impressively she ran it faster than her penultimate lap (8:31 minutes per mile vs 9:14/mi). Devon thought a Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix might have worked better in the humidity, and it’s definitely worth practising in training to avoid the drop in consumption and help her continue to get carbs on board when other fuel sources aren’t working.

Javelina is normally hot and dry. This year, the average temperature was 20°C with 81% humidity and rain. The rain and lower temperatures meant Devon probably sweated less than she would in typical Javelina conditions, but it’s worth noting that sweat evaporates less in humid air so it cools you less. Lap 1 was her lowest fluid intake at ~576 millilitres per hour and lap 2 the highest at ~1.1L/h. Laps 3 and 4 were ~970ml/h to 1L/h and lap 5 ~685 ml/h. We don't have her exact sweat rate so we can't say how closely this matched her losses, but it looks sensible for the conditions and matched subjectively how she felt as she didn’t suffer from any hydration-related issues.
Devon’s sodium intake came mostly through Electrolyte Capsules as she aimed for the relative sodium concentration of her intake to be ~1,000mg of sodium per litre of fluid, although she averaged slightly higher than this. Over 14 hours of steady drinking that's no bad thing, as it lowers the risk of diluting her blood sodium. A Sweat Test would give us her sweat sodium concentration instead of an estimate, and this would help her dial in her hydration strategy. If she's saltier than average she might need more sodium per litre, and if she's lower she could carry fewer capsules.