Jake Best's scorecard

World Record Marathon (carrying 40lbs)

Sunday 20th March, 2022

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

101g

Carb per hour

399mg

Sodium per hour

249ml

Fluid per hour

1,601mg/L

Relative sodium concentration

0mg/kg

Caffeine per bodyweight

How Jake hit those numbers

How Jake's hydration and fueling went...

Jake ‘Bionic’ Best could be called the definition of a high level operator, having spent time as a professional boxer, businessman, and endurance athlete, not to mention his time in the military
On a mild day in Wareham Forest, he aimed to achieve the fastest known marathon with a 40lbs pack on his back as part of a project that saw him raise over £7,500 and spread awareness in aid of the SBS Association and Rock2Recovery in the process
Before his marathon, Jake sat down with the PF&H Sports Science team to fine tune his fueling and hydration strategy for this distance

Hydration

Ahead of the race, Jake successfully preloaded using PH 1500 (tablets) both the evening before and on the morning of the event, ensuring his blood plasma volume was fully topped up for the start line
During the run itself, Jake only drank ~249ml/8oz of fluid per hour. Given the mild conditions (10℃ / 50°F and 53% humidity), his sweat losses would have been on the lower side so dehydration wouldn’t have presented a particularly big problem for him over this period. However, if it had been much warmer, Jake knows he would have needed to be more proactive with his fluid replacement
Utilising PF 30 Energy Drink Mix in a 500ml/16oz bottle meant that Jake was able to consume fluid, carb and sodium in one hit to cover all three ‘levers’ of endurance fueling at once, something which he practised achieving in training
Jake's Sweat Test results showed that he needs to pay attention to his sodium intake as he's a very salty sweater, losing 1,679mg/L of sweat
He did a good job of replacing his sodium losses by taking a proactive approach, by consuming an appropriate relative sodium concentration of ~1,601mg/L, which was largely achieved using electrolyte capsules

Fueling

Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

None

carb 30 mins before

30-60g

carb per hour during

In preparation for the world record attempt, Jake ate a carb-rich dinner of pizza the night before, prior to a breakfast consisting of oats, toast, a protein energy ball, some supplements, and a strong coffee with honey. This carb loading, helped to maximise his glycogen stores before he got to the start line
After his initial discussion with the team and feedback from his first three successful world records over the 5km, 10km and half-marathon distances, Jake took the knowledge provided and ‘ran’ with it. Undergoing some gut training before the WR attempt, which helped him hit an impressive 101g carbs per hour during his 4-hour marathon
This carbohydrate intake mainly consisted of PF 90 Gels and PF 30 Gels as well as a banana. This is an impressive intake which exceeds the recommendations of our Fuel & Hydration Planner for an event of this duration and intensity. Due to the positive association between carb intake and performance, this will have contributed to maintenance of his energy levels allowing him to avoid bonking on his big day
Jake didn’t have any caffeine during the race, which is something that may have provided an extra ergogenic benefit as he tolerates it well in day to day life. For an event of this duration, the general guidelines are to hit between 3-6mg of caffeine per kg of bodyweight. To utilise the benefits of caffeine in future, Jake could swap a couple of his regular PF 30 gels for PF 30 Caffeine Gels. It is important to remember that individual caffeine tolerance should be known before using in competition

Conclusions

Jake’s fantastic performance helped him obliterate the previous record by an impressive 1 hour and 31 minutes! Throughout the record breaking run, he implemented an effective fueling and hydration strategy to push above the general carb recommendations and replace a good proportion of his high sodium losses
In future, Jake may consider adding caffeine to his fueling strategy if he feels it’s appropriate for him to use (although losing the 40lbs of weight on his back might help him go faster too…)

Key info

Jake Best

Male

78kg

Sweat sodium concentration

1,679mg/L

Sweat sodium classification

Very High

* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test

Result

Overall Time

4:01:20

Event information

Sport

Running

Discipline

Marathon

Event

World Record Marathon (carrying 40lbs)

Location

Wareham, England

Date

20th March, 2022

Total Distance

42.2km / 26.2mi

Race conditions

Weather Conditions

Mild

Precipitation

No Rain

Min Temp

9°C / 48°F

Max Temp

11°C / 52°F

Avg Temp

10°C / 50°F

Humidity

53%

Athlete feedback

Race Satisfaction

9/10

Hydration rating

6/10

I don't think I drank as much as I should have

Energy levels

7/10

Really good energy levels throughout even though I started faster than intended

Toilet stops

GI comfort

10/10

Cramping

Mild cramps that I could push through

Jake's full stats

	Carbohydrate (g)	Sodium (mg)	Fluid (ml)	Caffeine (mg)	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
Overall
Total intake	405	1,601	1,000	0	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)	1,601
Per hour	101	399	249	0		1,601

Data Confidence

1

2

3

4

5

There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands, flavours, quantities, plausible estimations of volumes). However, there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.

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