Hayden's headline numbers
Hayden's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Hayden has been hitting his stride in regards to his carbohydrate intake in his recent ultra running adventures. He had yet another 100g/h+ day in Austria off the back of hitting well over 90g/h at Black Canyon 100km and the Western States Endurance Run (WSER) where he placed 1st and 3rd respectively, with no GI issues in any of the races. He achieved these high intakes through his tried and tested method of primarily using PF 300 Flow Gel in soft flasks. A high carb intake whilst racing at a high intensity is something to be proud of, and is certainly a testament to how Hayden consistently engages in gut training to ensure he can successfully implement his fueling strategy.
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.
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Whilst Hayden’s losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreAlthough Hayden has dialled in his hydration strategy with a Sweat Test and put the results into practice across many races, no one is immune to the challenges and priority shifts that occur within a race. Hayden missed out on a fluid refill at the back end of the race, as he couldn’t give up valuable time by stopping. Thankfully, not only did Hayden pre-load with a PH 1500 Tablet to ensure he started optimally hydrated, but he had been on top of his fluid and sodium requirements from the beginning of the race, taking on over ~500ml/h, which allowed him the opportunity to go for the victory by tackling the last few kilometres with less fluid on board than planned.
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.
Hayden had his regular pre-race caffeinated energy drink after breakfast, roughly 45 minutes before the start time, and one PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the final 15 minutes and another during the race. This amount of caffeine across this length of race has seemed to work well for Hayden, as he experiences no adverse effects of caffeine, but still feels the desired energy boost that reduces his perception of effort and enhances his focus to help him perform well.
How Hayden hit his numbers
Here's everything that Hayden ate and drank on the day...
Hayden's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Hayden
PF&HHayden's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).