Paris Marathon

Jack began the race fully stocked on glycogen after a strong carb-load in the 48 hours prior. He started race morning with a small amount of honey on a freshly baked French baguette. Within the final 30 minutes, Jack had a final pre-race gel, the timing of which is something Jack has refined by using a continuous glucose monitor. He found optimal increases in blood glucose occurred between 15-25 minutes after intake, so chose to utilise this for the race. His fueling strategy during the race was simple, taking 30 grams of carb every 25-30 minutes. To do this, Jack sipped on a PF 90 Gel in the first half, then consumed two PF 30 Caffeine Gels and a PF 30 Gel in the latter half.

During the race, Jack regularly picked up plain water from the aid stations, which he estimated to total ~1L across the race. To ensure he replaced a good proportion of his electrolyte losses alongside this, Jack carried Electrolyte Capsules with him, taking five throughout the race. This meant the relative sodium concentration of his intake was slightly above his sweat sodium concentration as measured by a Sweat Test, so he effectively replaced his sweat sodium and fluid losses.

Jack’s caffeine intake was slightly below the recommended scientific guidelines to achieve maximal performance benefit. At ~2.5mg/kg, he would still have seen a reduction in perceived effort, but could consider swapping his final pre-race gel out for a caffeinated version. Despite this, he managed to keep his perception of energy high and felt good throughout.