Maverick Cotswolds Ultra

As a hockey player stepping into the endurance world, Emily from the PF&H Sports Science team was met with the new challenge of carb loading and fueling with more than just a couple of sweets at halftime! However, she practised what she preaches, and hit the pre-race fueling recommendations with ~9.5g carb per kg bodyweight in the 48 hours before and topped that up with 2.8g/kg on race morning. When she signed up for this race in February, like many new endurance athletes, Emily struggled to take even one gel without GI issues. But through consistent gut training, she increased her tolerance and was able to take on ~58g carb per hour with no problems on race day.

Although Emily preloaded with 500ml of PH 1500 (Tablets) the evening before and morning of the race, the smoothie and glass of water she had with breakfast would have diluted the effects of her morning electrolyte drink. Going forward, she should have additional sodium, potentially through Electrolyte Caspules, alongside this fluid or remove it entirely to optimise the water retention benefits of the preload protocol. During the race, the “very English” conditions of 12℃ and raining in mid-May meant Emily’s hydration strategy of one flask of plain water per hour paired with two Electrolyte Capsules would have likely been appropriate to keep her well hydrated across the race.

Emily doesn’t regularly drink coffee and didn’t train with caffeine gels, so she opted to keep them out of her race day strategy. Whilst caffeine can provide performance enhancing effects for athletes, it is not well tolerated by all athletes. Going forward, if she wanted to trial using PF 30 Caffeine Gels, Emily should aim for 3-6mg/kg to provide the best chance for her to feel the stimulant’s performance benefits.