Black Canyon 100km

Eli made some small adjustments to his nutrition plan for this race, aiming to keep things simple over the longest distance he had tackled to date. He started the race with one PF 300 Flow Gel in a soft flask, and picked up a fresh soft flask with more PF 300 Flow Gel at each crewed checkpoint. Consequently, simply finishing his PF 300 Flow Gel flask by the next check-point would keep his carb intake on track throughout the race. In addition to consuming some cola at the 60km and 80km check-points, this approach allowed him to exceed the minimum recommended carb intake for a race of this intensity and duration. Since some inefficiency exists between carb consumption and actual energy production, typically ~80-85% on average when using a 2:1 glucose:fructose ratio, by consuming carbs at the rate he did in this race, Eli likely maximised the (theoretical) capacity for oxidation of ingested carbs. In other words, he was optimising the energy he could generate from his carb consumption. This undoubtedly contributed to his consistent energy levels throughout the race. Training the gut to tolerate such high quantities of carbohydrate over a prolonged period is an important part of this process that Eli has diligently practiced, meaning he avoided any GI issues on race day.

Eli’s hydration strategy was as straightforward as his fueling plan. He started with two soft flasks of plain water, aiming to finish these before each crewed checkpoint, where he could pick up fresh soft flasks. He also had the option to refill at uncrewed check-points, which he did once at ~72km. To maintain an adequate sodium intake, Eli used Electrolyte Capsules to replace a high proportion of his sweat losses during the race. Overall, the quantity of fluid Eli consumed was within our recommendations, but in hindsight, he felt that drinking more fluid earlier in the race might have reduced the risk of overheating which he felt he experienced at around 72km. Eli anticipated rising temperatures throughout the race and added an ice bandana at 50km to try and mitigate against this and help his body cool down. On reflection, using the ice bandana earlier in the race may have been a better strategy. He had also implemented some passive heat strategies into his training ahead of the race to achieve some level of heat acclimation.

Aside from a small morning coffee with breakfast, the only caffeine Eli consumed during the race came from cola picked up at a couple of aid stations. As a result, his overall caffeine intake fell below the recommendations. This was a deliberate choice after experiencing some GI issues at JFK 50 miler - though it wasn’t certain that caffeine was the cause. To be cautious, he opted to remove it from his plan this time. Now that Eli is successfully tolerating high carb intakes, the next step could be to reintroduce caffeine into his strategy so that he can benefit from the ergogenic effects of the stimulant.