84th
Jen Aylward's scorecard
London Marathon
Sunday 3rd October, 2021
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
23g
Carb per hour
108mg
Sodium per hour
240ml
Fluid per hour
450mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
75mg
Total caffeine
How Jen hit those numbers
750ml x PH 1500 (Tablet)
1 x Slice of toast with a poached egg
1 x Bowl of porridge (with sultanas, apple and cranberry)
1 x Cup of tea
1tbsp x Protein powder
2tbsp x Ground linseed
500ml x Plain water
500ml x Electrolyte tablet with caffeine (250mg sodium, 75mg caffeine)
2 x Energy chew packet (48g carb)
How Jen's hydration and fueling went...
- Jen is a PH customer who completed the Virtual Virgin London Marathon. She had a great run clocking a sub-4 hour marathon on an undulating course. As a result she rated her satisfaction with the run a 10!
- She was pleased to complete the marathon having experienced no major GI issues (rating GI comfort 9 out of 10) as this has previously been an area which has been a problem for her
Hydration
- Jen consumed an average of ~240ml/hr (~8oz/hr) across the marathon which she achieved by carrying 2 x 500ml/16oz bottles of fluid, one containing a caffeinated electrolyte tablet (75mg caffeine, ~240mg sodium) and one just plain water
- This approach of one bottle containing electrolytes and one plain water is sensible and gives an athlete the option to drink what their body is craving
- Jen’s fluid consumption is relatively low given the duration of the exercise period and in an ideal world could have benefitted from refilling her bottles at some stage during the run
- It went in her favour that she preloaded effectively in the morning by drinking ~750ml/25oz of PH1500, along with some further fluid
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Jen didn’t start her virtual marathon run until 1PM in the afternoon allowing her to get a good intake of high carb foods during the morning which negated the need for a final pre-run carb intake. For some athletes eating too close to running can also predispose them to GI issues and with Jen’s history of this it was most likely a good idea to avoid it
- During the marathon Jen used two packets of energy chews (providing a total of 96g of carb) to fuel her run. Per hour this worked out to be an average of ~23g/h which falls beneath the recommended carbohydrate guidelines for a run of this duration. Ideally, we would encourage an athlete to consume more than 30g/h and as close to 60g/h as possible (even above if it can be tolerated with no GI issues)
- Jen reported that her energy levels felt good but that they started to dwindle around mile 24. At this point, she took her last energy chews but still experienced some hunger pangs. These are both signs which suggest she was under-doing her fueling
- Jen’s more cautious fueling approach was likely a result of her previous experiences with GI issues in long runs/events and she commented ‘I could possibly have taken more fuel on board but felt comfortable with what I consumed
Conclusions
- Overall, Jen had a great run clocking her first ever sub-4 hour marathon around a tough route
- For future runs , upping her carb intake is something we would encourage Jen to continue to work on given the well regarded positive relationship between carbohydrate intake and performance. Nudging this upwards may also help prevent dips in energy and stave off feelings of hunger
- But, this should be managed with how her GI system can cope. For athletes trying to increase their race intakes, extensive gut training needs to be undertaken
Key info
Jen Aylward
Female
Result
Position
84th
Overall Time
4:10:57
Event information
Sport
Running
Discipline
Marathon
Event
London Marathon
Location
London, England
Date
3rd October, 2021
Website
Total Distance
42.2km / 26.2mi
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Mild
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
12°C / 54°F
Max Temp
16°C / 61°F
Avg Temp
15°C / 59°F
Humidity
70%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
10/10
Hydration rating
8/10
Toilet stops
Yes
Comfort break at mile 16
GI comfort
9/10
Cramping
No cramping
Jen's Thoughts
Sub 4 hour on an undulating course - boom
Jen's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 96 | 450 | 1,000 | 75 | 450 |
| Per hour | 23 | 108 | 240 | 18 | |
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.