Macie Head
Run to the Sea Bournemouth
BournemouthTop 100Macie's headline numbers
Macie'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 felt so good until 35km."
Two slices of toast with chocolate spread and banana at breakfast meant Macie consumed ~1.5g of carb per kilogram of body weight. Whilst this is at the lower end of the 1-4g/kg guidance for the final few hours before a long event, it would’ve been difficult for Macie to eat anymore given the early 7:40am start time. She then began her race fueling on the start line by taking a PF 30 Gel to boost her blood glucose. Out on the course, she took seven more PF 30 Gels alongside two soft flasks of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, mixed slightly stronger than standard, at 45g of carb per 500ml and Macie topped this intake up with some jelly beans and jelly babies from the aid stations. Macie has previously underfueled some of her long training runs but after chatting with the Sport Science Team, she completed a structured training block with plenty of gut training in her key sessions to help her reach over 60g/h, her highest intake to date. Her energy faded from 35km onwards which isn’t surprising given the duration of the event, and she put this down to going out slightly faster than her planned pace. Regardless, Macie made sure to keep fueling consistently through to the finish to help support her performance and keep her moving over the closing stages. Keeping pacing in mind and continuing to build her carb intake up towards 75g/h are the next steps to continue her progression in her races.
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.
Macie1269mg/L
Macie 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 Macie's losses are High (1,269mg/L), nailing her hydration strategy remains important, even when it's Mild.
Learn moreDrinking a strong electrolyte drink before the race could have helped Macie start optimally hydrated
"I tried to keep on top of drinking and did better than usual."
Macie wore a hydration vest which allowed her to carry two 500ml soft flasks, one with PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and the other with PH 1000, which she refilled at two of the four aid stations. She also carried one additional empty soft flask pre-filled with PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix to fill at the final aid station and drink over the last 10km. In total, she drank just over 3 litres across the 50km to average ~550ml per hour, which was a sensible volume for the mild but humid conditions on the south coast. The sodium in her flasks provided a relative sodium concentration of ~697mg per litre, a little over half of her sweat sodium concentration. Though no issues arose during the race, in future - especially longer and hotter races - Macie could consider using PH 1500 alongside plain water to more closely match her sweat losses and avoid any hydration-related issues which would impair her performance.
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
Macie didn’t train with any caffeinated products and sensibly chose not to consume any caffeine on race day, other than her morning cup of tea. Racing with the stimulant is down to individual preference and tolerance, but given the known performance benefits, it’s worth her considering as she’s a caffeine drinker in her day-to-day life. Two or three PF 30 Caffeine Gels would put her in the recommended range to reap the ergogenic effects, which include increased perceived energy levels which may have helped Macie in those final few miles.
How Macie hit her numbers
Here's everything that Macie ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I was very happy with my time.”
“PF&H Warehouse Supervisor, Macie, smashed her first ever ultra with the help of a practised and well implemented fuel and hydration strategy. Continuing to nudge her carb intake up, as well as her sodium concentration, is something to consider in future races. Well done, Macie!”
PF&HMacie'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 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).