Lotti Brinks
Western States® 100-Mile Endurance Run
Olympic Valley, California5th, FPROLotti's headline numbers
Lotti's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I had solid energy for most of the day. My only low point was going up to Green Gate at ~80 miles, where I still felt I had a way to go and had gone a little while without carbs."
After a tough Western States (WSER) debut in 2024, Lotti spent the last 18 months working with PF&H on her fuel (and hydration) strategy. She has continued to train her gut to tolerate more carbohydrate whilst refining how she fuels; this came to fruition at Gorge Waterfalls earlier in 2026 where Lotti maintained ~90 grams per hour for 100km. Using a combination of PF 90 Gels, PF 30 Caffeine Gels and PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, Lotti once again nailed her in-race fueling strategy, sticking to her plan and averaging ~90g/h across the ~16 hours of intense racing. She kept her intake consistent across the race, with a high of ~112g/h at five hours into the race, and a low for the last hour where slight flavour fatigue meant she didn’t want any more gels. More varied options such as Coca Cola at aid stations may help counter this, but Lotti had done enough to front-load her fueling before this last section. There is no doubt that this high average intake supported her performance and allowed her to take 2 hours 49 minutes off of her 2024 WSER time.
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.
Lotti1290mg/L
Lotti has been Sweat Tested to dial in her 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.
Given Lotti's losses are High (1,290mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy remains important, even when it's Mild.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I’m happy with how my hydration went. I would have liked some more dilute carb and electrolyte drink mix at times."
As a salty sweater, Lotti built her WSER hydration strategy using PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix as well as PH 1500, Electrolyte Capsules and plain water. Though she averaged a relative sodium concentration close to her 1,290mg/L losses, this wasn’t perfectly spread across the day. The very cold early miles saw her drink less than planned whilst continuing to take capsules, this meant she consumed a higher relative sodium concentration over the first five hours (~2,000mg/L). Though a more consistent intake would be recommended, Lotti experienced no negative effects of such a high concentration and brought this concentration down as her fluid intake increased to keep up with her increasing sweat rate, with highs of ~793ml/h between mile 56 and 62. Lotti’s fluid intake in this edition of WSER was lower than we’ve typically seen other athletes consume at the same race, a reflection of the lower-than-normal temperatures, which subsequently will have reduced her sweat rate, so was still likely enough to keep her adequately hydrated.
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
Lotti has previously shown a high tolerance for caffeine, having taken well over 6mg/kg in past races without any negative side effects. At WSER, she took a total of 1,080mg from caffeinated gels and a small amount of Coca Cola, equating to ~16.1mg/kg. This is considerably above the standard 3-6mg/kg recommended by science, but when spread over 16 hours of races it’s likely this *high* dose was sufficient to keep her circulating caffeine concentration within optimal range. The current scientific literature is not targeted at ultra-marathon events over 5 hours in length, where caffeine can be fully metabolised during the race.
How Lotti hit her numbers
Here's everything that Lotti ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“It was everything I hoped for and more. I loved every minute of this race, but there is always room for improvement.”
“Lotti smashed her second attempt at the historical WSER claiming 5th and becoming the 7th fastest female finisher ever. It was epic to be on the ground to watch, crew and weigh her intake to see the refinements she has made to her strategy up close using the lessons from the past two years of racing, helping her to effectively meet her nutritional needs during this ‘cool’ Western States.”
PF&HLotti'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 a high level of confidence in the accuracy in the data. The numbers presented are believed to be a very close reflection of reality. There may still be one or two estimations made in the data (an inescapable part of field data) but there is reason to believe that these are accurate and that possible error has been kept to a minimum. It is data that has been collected and recalled as accurately as is possible given the uncontrolled settings/circumstances.