Joe Wenman's scorecard
Manchester Marathon
Sunday 3rd April, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 71gCarb per hour
- 216mgSodium per hour
- 507mlFluid per hour
- 425mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 0.94mg/kgCaffeine per bodyweight
How Joe hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablet)
2 x Bananas
2 x Granola bars
1 x Coffee
Pre-race (<30mins)
1 x PF 30 Gel
Race - During
3 x PH Electrolyte Capsule
2 x PF 90 Gel
1.8L x Plain water
1 x Energy gel with caffeine (22g carb, 75mg caffeine)
4 x Jelly Babies
- Precision Fuel & Hydration Sweat Test Officer and trail running coach, Joe Wenman, ran his first ever road marathon at the Manchester Marathon, clocking a half-marathon personal best (01:30:30) through the first 21.1km before cramp meant that it was a battle for survival in the second half of the race
- It was very much a learning experience for Joe and he said post-race, “I shouldn’t have put as much pressure on myself” and that road running is “mentally totally different to trail running”
- Furthermore, his hydration strategy didn’t go entirely to plan as he lost some electrolyte capsules through a hole in his shorts, which meant that he didn’t take on as much sodium as he had planned to. Although his fueling strategy was a definite positive…
Hydration
- From his Advanced Sweat Test we know that Joe is a ‘salty sweater’, losing 1,208mg/L of sodium per litre of sweat. Therefore he sensibly made sure he was optimally hydrated going into the marathon by preloading with 500ml/16oz of PH 1500 the night before, as well as the morning of racing
- After a successful start to the race where he held an average pace of less than 4 minutes per kilometer in the first 10km, Joe discovered that the PH Electrolyte capsules (250mg of sodium each) he’d been carrying had fallen out of a hole in his shorts
- Joe said this affected him mentally as he was always thinking about what he could pick up from the aid stations to replace the sodium he’d missed out on in the electrolyte capsules. Unfortunately, the aid stations didn’t have many sodium-rich options that Joe felt confident taking
- Joe did pick up ~1.8L (63oz) of plain water, drinking an average of ~507ml/16oz per hour. In his previous Ultra race, conditions were similar to Manchester (average temperature ~7°C/45°F), and his sweat rate was ~1L/32oz per hour. At Manchester, Joe thought his sweat rate was “slightly higher than at Portsmouth”. Therefore, assuming this was true, his hourly fluid intake would have replaced a good proportion of his fluid losses, but he would have been operating at a significant deficit in terms of sodium because of the lost electrolyte capsules…
- He only managed to consume a total of ~766mg of sodium (~216mg/hr), from three PH electrolyte capsules early on; the relative sodium concentration of Joe’s intake across the race was therefore ~425mg/L, which fell some way short of replacing his high sweat sodium losses (~1,208mg/L)
- Despite Joe’s good intentions, this level of replacement was low and he mentioned that he was “really craving salt at the end”. This low level of sodium replacement may explain why Joe experienced “fairly bad”, mild cramps during the second half of the race, which caused his pace to drop from 4:44 min/km at halfway to a 6:23 min/km pace towards the end
- Joe knows that there are areas for improvement (one being to sew up the hole in his running shorts!) and rated the hydration strategy that he executed as a 4 out of 10
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
60-90gcarb per hour during
- Joe went into the race well fueled after consuming a high-carb breakfast that consisted of a couple of bananas and granola bars alongside a coffee to strategically maximize his glycogen stores and energy levels ahead of the race
- Joe knows it can be beneficial to take a final ‘hit’ of simple carbohydrates in the last 30 minutes before the race starts so tactically took a final PF 30 Gel in this timeframe
- Joe maintained his effective fueling strategy into the run and consumed two PF 90 Gels, as well as four jelly babies (~21g carb) and a final caffeine gel (~75mg of caffeine) that was provided on course
- In total, he hit an impressive average of ~71g carb per hour during his road marathon debut. This was well within the Quick Carb Calculator’s recommendations of 60-90g/h, and Joe’s pre-planned target for fueling. This intake was a significant increase on what we saw him consume at Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Ultra last year (~54g/hr), an event which took him just 30 minutes longer to complete
- Positively, Joe tolerated this increase in carbohydrate intake well and didn’t experience any GI discomfort (rating it at a 10 out of 10). Due to the positive trend between increased carb intake and performance, Joe could look to continue dialling this intake up towards the 90g/h mark in future races by carrying out further gut training
- On race day, Joe’s caffeine intake consisted of his morning coffee and a caffeinated gel he opted to take during the latter stages of the run; at that point he felt he needed more energy, because the cramp he was managing meant he was out on course longer than he’d expected to be
Conclusions
- Joe built on his marathon fueling strategy from last year’s trail race in Portsmouth by following our recommendations to increase his total carb intake at Manchester Marathon
- However, the lost electrolyte capsules meant Joe was unable to adequately replace his sweat sodium losses, which may have contributed to the cramping he experienced and the subsequent slowing in pace
- Joe will be looking to increase his carb intake up towards that 90g/hr mark and make sure he doesn’t have any holes in his pockets so he can replace a higher proportion of his sodium losses in future events
Key info
Joe Wenman
Male80kg
Sweat sodium concentration1,208mg/L
Sweat sodium classificationHigh
* determined by our Sweat Test
Result
Overall Time3:33:39
Event information
SportRunning
DisciplineMarathon
EventManchester Marathon
LocationManchester, England
Date3rd April, 2022
Total Distance42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Elevation54m / 177ft
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsMild
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp8°C / 46°F
Max Temp10°C / 50°F
Avg Temp9°C / 48°F
Humidity80%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction6/10
Hydration rating4/10I would have likely drank more if I hadn't dropped my salt capsules
Energy levels7/10Up to half way they were great, but went downhill for the second half
Toilet stopsNo
GI comfort10/10
CrampingMild cramps that I could push through
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.