Liam Meirow
Gorge Waterfalls 50km
Liam's headline numbers
Liam'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.
Having finished 2nd in the Gorge Waterfall 30km just 48 hours earlier, Liam focused on pacing and fueling for his 50km. He ran a conservative, measured race and supported that with a consistently high carbohydrate intake of over 100g/h across the ~4 hour effort, using Flow Gel, PF 30 Gels and PF 30 Caffeine Gels. Two days prior he fueled the 30km with a similar ~98g/h to sustain his 2nd place performance, and followed this up with proactive refueling across the weekend to replenish his fuel stores. Despite the high relative intensity of both races, Liam was able to surpass the 90g/h carb recommendation with a good level of gut comfort as a result of his proactive fueling in training to improve his gut tolerance.
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.
Given Liam’s losses are High (1,187mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy remains important, even when it’s Cold.
Learn moreAfter some hydration-related issues in the Tarawera 50km a couple of months before Gorge Waterfalls, Liam went into the weekend of racing with a more proactive hydration strategy. This started ahead of both races when Liam preloaded with PH 1500 to make sure he was starting with elevated blood plasma volume. Even with the cooler Oregon conditions compared to Tarawera, Liam is an athlete with a high sweat rate and salty sweat so he drank exclusively PH 1500 (Drink Mix) at a rate of over 500ml per hour during both races to keep up with his losses effectively.
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.
Liam took a PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the final 30 minutes before the 8am race start, followed by two more during the run to total ~300mg (~4.2mg/kg). This dose sits comfortably within the recommended 3-6mg/kg for a race of this duration, 3-5 hours, to maximise the stimulant’s performance-enhancing effects.
How Liam hit his numbers
Here's everything that Liam ate and drank on the day...
Liam's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Liam
PF&HLiam's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).