Lauren Puretz
Ram Party Ultra
Lauren's headline numbers
Lauren's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Even though Lauren consumed ~385g of carbohydrate across 5 hours of racing, this averages out to be below the recommended 90g/h. Increasing this intake, even just by 10g/h, could be helpful for Lauren’s energy levels and further reduce the risk of bonking. The altitude and intensity may have suppressed her appetite slightly, so having a structured plan will be imperative in order to make sure she can stick to consistent fueling at similar races. During this race, her carb sources came from a mix of products she’d trained with, including some gels and drink mixes. The variety likely helped avoid flavour fatigue through different textures and flavours, another key factor she can take into her next race.
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 Lauren’s losses are on the moderate side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreLauren knew from her Sweat Test that her sweat sodium concentration was moderate, and although race conditions were dry, the elevation and gusty winds increased her risk of fluid losses. She adapted by appropriately preloading with a high concentration of sodium before the race and using a strategic electrolyte plan during the event, relying on a combination of drink mix and electrolyte capsules. Although her sodium intake was sufficient to compensate for her sweat losses, her fluid intake was on the low side and she recognised this post-race, noting she should’ve refilled with fluids more throughout. This combined with missing a planned refill of her bottle meant that the relative concentration of sodium of the fluid she did consume was higher than planned. Thankfully, she was able to use some cooling strategies at an aid station to keep her core body temperature in check and prevent any further negative impacts of dehydration.
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.
Lauren used just over ~200mg of caffeine, between two PF 30 Caffeine Gels and a pre-race coffee. This put her comfortably within the recommended range of 3–6mg/kg for performance benefits. Importantly, this was a protocol she had practiced and tolerated well ahead of time, and she reported no jitters or side effects. Instead, she felt mentally alert throughout, especially in the latter stages.
How Lauren hit her numbers
Here's everything that Lauren ate and drank on the day...
Lauren's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Lauren
PF&HLauren's 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.