Julie McCarron
Newport Marathon
NewportCompleted, F55-59Julie's headline numbers
Julie's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"My energy was really good and only started to drop from mile 22, which I was both surprised and pleased about. "
Julie crossed the start line of her first marathon with sufficient glycogen stored in her muscles thanks to a structured carb-load the day prior, a carb-rich breakfast a few hours before the race, and a PF 30 Gel in the final 30 minutes. The body’s glycogen stores can only last for ~1.5 hours after starting moderate-hard exercise, so ensuring they are optimised is essential for events exceeding this duration. During the race, Julie maintained a consistent carb intake with a textbook strategy of alternating one PF 30 Gel and one PF 30 Chew every 30 minutes. Through this, she avoided flavour fatigue and although her energy levels dropped slightly towards the end, she was still able to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the race from the start, right up to the finish.
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.
T - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I probably drank a little more than usual due to the weather as it was significantly warmer than I was used to and there was not much shade on the course, but I didn’t get thirsty at all."
Spring marathons tend to present the challenge of unpredictable race conditions, and Julie’s race was no exception: Newport in April ended up being warmer than anticipated! She optimised her pre-race hydration by preloading with PH 1500 the night before and morning of the race and then continued to stay on top of her fluid intake during. She averaged ~422ml/h by starting with a 500ml soft flask of PH 500 (Tablets) and then transitioning to plain water from aid stations. This intake will have likely replaced a good proportion of Julie’s sweat losses and prevented an excessive decrease in her bodyweight over the ~5 hours and 20 minutes of running. One area to work on for next time, especially if participating in a hotter race, would be her sodium intake. Julie’s Fuel & Hydration Planner results recommended a relative sodium concentration of 500mg/L which she could accomplish with an additional 1-2 Electrolyte Capsules (aiming for one 250mg capsule per 500ml of plain water).
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.
Consuming caffeine in the hours before the start may have increased perceived energy levels
Caffeine can provide performance benefits when dosed to 3-6mg/kg bodyweight, but isn’t necessarily right for every athlete. Beyond a black coffee with breakfast before the race, Julie did not utilise the stimulant in her plan, a wise decision for her as an individual who isn’t used to using caffeine during races. If she did want to experiment with caffeine in the future, she could substitute one or two of her hourly PF 30 Gels with a PF 30 Caffeine Gel to obtain a 100mg dose of caffeine per gel.
How Julie hit her numbers
Here's everything that Julie ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I finished and thoroughly enjoyed my first ever marathon so that I can easily rate this ten out of ten. Whilst I missed my target time, I crossed the finish line with my partner Tim having soaked in the atmosphere, so I am very happy with that outcome!”
“Julie displayed a solid fueling strategy which helped her to cross the finish line of her first marathon and enjoy the experience. With some small changes to her hydration strategy based on the conditions of the race to further fine-tune her sodium intake, we are in no doubt that she will achieve her target of a sub-5 hour marathon in a future event.”
PF&HJulie's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
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.