Martina Cambruzzi
Manchester Marathon
ManchesterTop 50Martina's headline numbers
Martina'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 think I could push my carb intake up slightly."
Martina hit the recommended pre-race carb guidelines with a healthy portion of porridge and an energy bar, ensuring her glycogen stores were topped off and she could toe the start line optimally fuelled. This helped fuel her PB performance, but unfortunately, her mid-race intake was slightly below the recommended scientific guidelines for a race of this duration and intensity. Martina did mention she experienced some gastrointestinal discomfort during the race, and said that this is a very common occurrence in both her training and racing. Reflecting on the race, Martina reported that she hadn’t practiced her fueling in training enough, so to alleviate her GI issues, she plans to undertake some structured gut training.
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.
Martina942mg/L
Martina 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.
Whilst Martina's losses are on the moderate side, getting her hydration strategy right is still important if she wants to perform at her best.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"Spot on pre-race, but maybe could have had more fluid towards the start of the run."
Martina planned to pick up plain water at the aid stations to support her hydration throughout the race. Although we don’t have data on Martina’s sweat rate, she felt that the mild race conditions meant that she could rely on drinking to thirst. Reflecting on the race, Martina felt she could have drank a little bit more earlier on in the race. This may have helped her avoid the feeling of thirst she felt towards the end of the race, where she ended up trying to ‘catch up’ and drink extra at the last three aid stations. Martina didn’t take any sodium on board during the race, as she felt her moderate sweat sodium concentration and the mild conditions (therefore not eliciting a high sweat rate) meant her net sodium losses wouldn’t have been extensive on this occasion. Adding some Electrolyte Capsules may have helped her drive to drink earlier in the race, so perhaps including some in future marathons is worth considering.
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
In addition to her carb-rich breakfast, Martina had a black coffee prior to the race. Caffeine has a half-life (time it takes for the concentration consumed to decrease by half) of ~4-5 hours, so it will have been in her system during the race. In races lasting more than four hours, Martina may benefit from topping up her caffeine levels during the event, but considering Martina was out on course for a little over three hours, she didn’t feel she needed any additional caffeine during the run.
How Martina hit her numbers
Here's everything that Martina ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I was happy with my strategy for this race but I do think there are some things to consider in order for me to PB in future.”
“Martina used an effective fueling and hydration plan to help her achieve a PB at the Manchester Marathon. To help her achieve another PB at her next marathon, Martina should undertake some more structured gut training to increase her tolerance, and aim to consume closer to ~75g/h. Adding some sodium to her hydration strategy will assist with the absorption and transportation of these carbs, and also increase her thirst slightly, and encourage her to be more proactive with drinking earlier in the race. ”
PF&HMartina'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).