
James Turner
Seville Marathon
James' headline numbers
James' strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
After experimenting with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), James knew that he responds well to a carb-rich breakfast consisting of rice pudding and bagels. To ensure he had access to his ideal pre-race meal, he packed his ingredients in his luggage for his trip to Spain. Despite James’ rapid average pace (3:22 mins per km, 5:26 mins/mile), he wasn’t part of the ‘elite’ start group at this race and didn’t have the ability to pick up his own bottles on course. Instead, to accommodate his fueling strategy, he bought a pair of shorts which comfortably fit seven PF 30 Gels (one spare, just in case), and practised carrying them during training sessions so he could get a feel for where they would sit during the race. This enabled him to keep a consistent carbohydrate intake over the course of the race and stick to his pre-planned 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 James’s losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreJames is used to cooler, temperate conditions and was slightly apprehensive of racing in the warmer Spanish climate. To navigate the increased demand heat places on the body, he completed several sauna sessions with the aim of heat acclimation. He also ‘preloaded’ on the morning of the race using a strong electrolyte drink consisting of PH 1500. James admits to being a pretty heavy sweater, but on the salt side of things falls into the moderate camp. Based on his estimated sweat losses, concentration and subjective feedback, his overall fluid and sodium numbers were suitable to replace an adequate proportion of his losses during the race.
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.
James ensured he utilised the performance benefits of caffeine by taking on ~400mg of the stimulant during the race, as well as having a black coffee with his breakfast. Based on James’ new-found knowledge of caffeine and its half-life of ~4-5 hours, in future races, he plans ‘front-load’ his caffeine intake to the first half of his race. This will hopefully ensure he still has the vast majority of the stimulant in his system during the race and over the finish line.
How James hit his numbers
Here's everything that James ate and drank on the day...
James' weapons of choice
Final thoughts
James' full stats
Data Confidence?
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.