Lindsey Hunt
Berlin Marathon
BerlinCompleted, M30-34Lindsey's headline numbers
Lindsey's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"For the first 30km things were rosy, but the last 12km were dark."
Lindsey would have easily hit the carb recommendations for a race of this duration by just consuming his Flow Gel, but he decided to pick up some extra gels from the aid stations as he wasn’t having any stomach issues and wanted to keep his carb intake high. He even said he felt like he could have eaten anything with no issues! This is yet another example of an athlete who can consume >90g of carb per hour, and whilst it’s great Lindsey had no issues, he can certainly afford to reduce his intake for future marathons, where 75-90g per hour is usually plenty considering the relatively shorter duration.
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.
Lindsey839mg/L
Lindsey has been Sweat Tested to dial in his hydration plan
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 Lindsey's losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I should have taken on more fluid and sodium, but this wasn’t helped by the extremely busy aid stations."
Linsdey suffered from cramp in both of his hamstrings in the second half of the marathon, likely due to muscle fatigue since he wouldn’t have accumulated enough dehydration during the race to induce sodium depletion-related cramps, especially given his average sodium concentration was slightly higher than his sweat losses. We know from the limited research into muscle cramps that by measuring electrical activity of muscles (EMG), baseline levels of excitatory activity significantly increase in fatigued muscles shortly before bouts of cramp. This means that fatigued muscles also have problems trying to ‘relax’ between contractions, making cramps much more likely. Reducing cumulative muscle fatigue should be the goal for Lindsey ahead of future marathons, perhaps by including strength work, as well as introducing some more marathon-paced long runs to condition his muscles to run at that pace for long periods.
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.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Lindsey was just below the caffeine recommendations, and based on the robust scientific literature on caffeine and sports performance, using a dose that’s <3mg/kg meant Lindsey would have left some performance enhancement on the table. So, adding another PF 30 Caffeine Gel to his mid-race strategy would likely have helped that last 12km feel *less* dark.
How Lindsey hit his numbers
Here's everything that Lindsey ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“An awesome carb load the day before left me in great shape to give it my all come race day. My stomach felt light and ready to go in the morning, and I had no GI issues despite the high carb intake on the day. Not much could have gone better, despite the cramps I suffered which were most likely due to my lack of recent training load.”
Lindsey“Lindsey certainly used his knowledge as a Sports Scientist to optimise his pre-race carb load, ensuring he was fueled and ready to run, which clearly paid dividends. In future, some small modifications to his training to include some strength work and more marathon-specific long runs will help reduce muscle fatigue, and hopefully avoid the painful muscle cramps. We’d also suggest another top up of caffeine during the race if he wants to reap the maximal benefits from the stimulant, which could give him the edge in achieving his sub three hour marathon goal.”
PF&HLindsey'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.