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
No
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 | 1,601 |
Per hour | 101 | 399 | 249 | 0 |
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.