KUT80 Karnisches Ungetum

Juli found it particularly challenging to manage food intake with such an unusual race start time of midnight. To try and combat this, she meticulously planned her carb-load for the 48 hours leading up to the race to maximise her glycogen stores. She aimed for ~10g of carb per kg of body mass to stay in line with the recommendations, whilst reducing fat and fibre to avoid feeling overly full. During the race, Juli relied solely on PF 90 Gels to help her reach the scientific recommendations for a race of this duration and intensity. She experienced a little GI discomfort and nausea but puts this down to dehydration more so than her carb intake, as she’s used to tolerating this amount.

With the hot climate and distance between aid stations, Juli did a solid job at managing her hydration strategy to best replace her sweat losses. As one of the PF&H Video Callers, Juli knows the importance of pre-loading ahead of the race to start as hydrated as possible. Following this, she added PH 1500 tablets and packets to her soft flasks periodically to account for her sodium needs across the race. She also carried Electrolyte Capsules to supplement the plain water she took on at river crossings in order to stay on top of her relative sodium concentration. However, with a sweat rate of ~2L/h in these warmer conditions, Juli replaced less of her losses than would have been ideal at the hottest parts of the day, and it’s likely that she crossed the dehydration threshold as these losses built up throughout the race. She sensibly used the river crossings to try and limit the rise in core temperature, which at the very least reduced her perception of heat. In future races, if aid stations are limited, Juli will have to increase the volume of fluid she carries, possibly by using a hydration pack in addition to the soft flasks.

Juli’s caffeine intake was significantly higher than the recommendations, but she still reported dips in energy and an hour suffering in a big ‘energy hole’. It’s likely this was a result of the late race start and natural craving for sleep due to the body’s circadian rhythm. For future races, Juli could slightly modify her caffeine strategy so that she has smaller doses of the stimulant throughout the race, instead of fairly large doses every three hours. This smaller but more consistent intake should help her reap the ergogenic benefits and maintain a steady flow into her bloodstream.