Cocodona 250

Cocodona 250 is one of the most logistically demanding fueling challenges in ultra running, covering ~254 miles and over 36,000 feet of climbing. Lindsey took in ~13,895 kcal across the 72 hours of racing, averaging ~191 kcal/h against an estimated energy expenditure of ~407 kcal/h, meaning she replaced approximately 47% of her total energy demand through food and drink. This is a normal and expected outcome for a race of this length. Nobody can eat enough to match expenditure across 250 miles, and attempting to do so would almost certainly cause the GI issues that derail so many finishes. Her body’s fat stores provided the remainder of her energy requirements, this is appropriate since Lindsey has undergone laboratory testing to indicate that she has a high capacity to utilise fat and due to the relatively low intensity of the event. Carbohydrate is the substrate that matters most for fueling strategy across the sections where pace and intensity rise, and Lindsey averaged ~45g of carb per hour, a well-managed rate given the duration and the gut's need to sustain intake across multiple days. PF 30 Gels, PF 30 Chews, PF 60 Chew Bars and Carb Only Drink Mix collectively provided ~82% of her total energy intake (~49% from gels alone, ~11% from chews and bars, and ~23% from drink mix), with 63 individual gels consumed across the race. The remaining ~18% came from real food, including tortilla wraps with egg, rice-eroni, oatmeal and potato soup at crewed aid stations, which provided variety and helped avoid flavour fatigue during the longer sections. The first leg into Crown King was the strongest of the race at ~295 kcal/h and ~74g/h, exactly matched to the hardest, hottest section of the course. Both energy and carbohydrate intake dropped in the final leg to ~54 kcal/h and ~13g/h respectively as appetite and gut function declined, and with a target floor of ~30g/h and ~100 kcal/h for that section in future, there is a clear opportunity to better support the closing miles.

Lindsey drank ~15.5L across the 73-hour effort, averaging ~212ml/h, a conservative but appropriate rate for a race where ambient temperatures were manageable across much of the course, particularly overnight. Her relative sodium concentration of ~1,244mg/L tracked closely to her individual sweat sodium losses measured via a sweat test, with the first leg into Crown King delivering the highest concentration at ~1,529mg/L, sensibly front-loaded for the most demanding conditions. As the race progressed and gut tolerance declined, she shifted away from her Carb Only Drink Mix combined with PH 1500 (Drink Mix) towards plain water, which brought her sodium concentration down in the later legs. This was the right reactive call given the circumstances, though carrying dedicated PH 1500 in a small flask for the final sections would allow sodium replacement to continue even when sweet or concentrated drinks become aversive. She arrived at the finish without cramping and with no signs of hyponatraemia, which reflects a well-executed sodium strategy across the full race.

Lindsey consumed ~1,133mg of caffeine across the race (~21.8mg/kg), drawing primarily on PF 30 Caffeine Gels, some of which were included in her soft flasks in order to reduce the caffeine dose per hit. While this total is above the general 3 to 6mg/kg guidance, it was spread across 72 hours, so circulating levels at any one time were far more modest. Her caffeine timing was well structured, with doses spread strategically across the effort rather than clustered at a single point, the right approach for managing accumulating tolerance over a multi-day race. Lindsey switched to hot chocolate from PF&H’s Club Cocodona aid station onwards for a dual purpose: it delivered a modest caffeine hit alongside calories and warmth during the cooler overnight sections, and provided a welcome flavour contrast to the gels and drink mix that had made up the bulk of her intake. In future, a slightly higher and more consistent caffeine dose across the final three legs may help counter the neuromuscular fatigue and sleep deprivation that characterises the closing third of a 250-mile race.