• After a period of time racing in Australia, Hayden returned to the US to get in some specific training ahead of his main target race at Western States Endurance Race 100 WSER100. It was a successful return to the Golden State for Hayden as he took the win at the UTMB Major Canyons 50K
• The Canyons course follows similar trails to the WSER 100 course, and Hayden was thrilled with how well he was able to climb during the race. He put a lot of this credit down to his fueling and hydration, and hitting his planned numbers throughout
• Hayden also had some of the PF&H team crewing for him at Canyons, which he said “not only helped me stay on top of my nutrition, but also gave me a real confidence boost during the race”

Hydration

• Hayden’s pre-loading protocol using PH 1500 was well intentioned, but could be adjusted to get the concentration recommended for optimal pre-hydration. In future, he should look to put one PH 1500 into ~500ml (16oz) water both the night before and morning of the race
• During the race, Hayden drank an average of ~750ml (24oz) per hour, with a relative sodium concentration of ~832 milligrams per litre (mg/32oz). He did this predominantly via PF 60 Drink Mix and swallowing one Electrolyte Capsule
• We know from Hayden’s Sweat Test that he loses 901mg of sodium per litre (32oz) of sweat, so his sodium intake was likely replacing a large proportion of his losses. Additionally, Hayden weighed himself before and after the race, during which he lost ~1.2 kg (2.6 lbs). Considering the recent scientific guidelines suggest avoiding losses greater than 2% of body weight through dehydration is key to preventing performance decline, Hayden did a great job replacing fluids so that he lost just under 2% of his bodyweight, and didn’t experience any dehydration related issues
• During Hayden’s next race at Western States 100, it is inevitable he will experience a large range of temperatures, so adjusting his fluid intake to match these changes across the day will be essential to ensure he stays hydrated and doesn’t over/under hydrate

Fueling

Conclusions

• Hayden was extremely happy with the execution of his race nutrition strategy and rated his overall race satisfaction a 10 (out of 10), stating his ability to climb was really pleasing and his energy levels felt good throughout
• Hayden also rated his gastrointestinal comfort a 10 (out of 10), experiencing no GI issues at all. He added that having cold fluids from the crew felt really nice and helped limit his perception of heat as the temperatures started to rise a little
• Hayden might wish to consider consuming some additional electrolyte capsules at Western States as the temperature rises and his fluid intake increases. This will help him crush all three leavers to nail his endurance performance