Matt Fox's scorecard
Hannover Marathon
Sunday 26th March, 2023
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
101g
Carb per hour
545mg
Sodium per hour
493ml
Fluid per hour
1,106mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
270mg
Total caffeine
How Matt hit those numbers
500ml x PH 1500 (Tablet)
300ml x PF 60 Energy Drink Mix
500ml x PF 60 Energy Drink Mix
1.5 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
3 x PF 30 Energy Gel
375ml x Energy Drink (60g carb)
How Matt's hydration and fueling went...
- Founder of the Sweat Elite podcast and YouTube channel, Matt completed the Hannover marathon as a “training simulation” run to help him prepare for the 2023 London Marathon
- He chose to run this marathon a few seconds per kilometre slower than his target pace for London, as he suffered with hamstring and calf cramps in his last marathon in Osaka, Japan, so was trialling some new techniques to help avoid them
Hydration
- Matt is fairly new to preloading his sodium levels, but wanted to start as optimally hydrated as he could, so followed our protocol perfectly, drinking 500ml (16oz) of PH 1500 electrolytes with his breakfast
- Then, to meet his fluid requirements during the race, Matt prepared by mixing 5 scoops of PF 60 Drink Mix into 1L (32oz) of water. He then decanted this into several smaller bottles, which he placed throughout the course at the elite athlete aid stations
- Matt drank ~300ml (12oz) of this drink within the last 30 minutes of the race starting, to give him a decent energy boost, as well as topping up his sodium levels
- During the race Matt drank ~500ml (16oz) of the PF 60 Drink Mix, and he also drank a can of energy drink (~60g carb), which he had shaken vigorously and decanted into another water bottle so it was no longer fizzy
- After Matt’s previous marathon in Osaka, he feared his electrolyte and fluid intake was suboptimal and one of the reasons he experienced muscle cramps in the last 5k. So for this race, he actively tried to increase both of these components. In total, Matt averaged a solid ~493ml (15oz) per hour, with a relative sodium concentration of ~1,106mg per litre (mg/32oz). This strength of drinks is similar to his sweat sodium concentration (1,249mg/L) and could be part of the reason he managed to stave off any painful muscle cramps
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Matt has documented his journey of training his gut to tolerate more carbohydrate on his YouTube channel, and it was no surprise to see him crush his fueling strategy in this race with no GI issues
- He started the race-day fueling ~30 minutes before the gun went off with ~300ml (12oz) of PF 60 Drink Mix. This will likely have initiated some glycogen-sparing, as his body will have prioritised the circulating glucose in his bloodstream, potentially saving some vital energy for later in the race
- During the marathon Matt took three PF 30 Gels and one-and-a-half PF 30 Caffeine Gels, which combined with the ~500ml (16oz) of PF 60 Drink Mix and ~300ml (12oz) of energy drink, brought his total carbohydrate intake to an impressive ~240g
- When split across the 2 hours 23 minutes of racing, this gave Matt an average intake of just over 100g per hour. When coupled with no gastrointestinal discomfort and soaring energy levels (he rated them both 10/10), this shows his gut training has been very effective
- Matt also consumed ~270mg of caffeine. Relative to his bodyweight, this will likely have put him within the 3-6mg per kilogram that the science recommends for optimal performance
Conclusions
- Matt was pleased with his perception of effort, especially as he was only a couple of minutes slower than his target time in London, and he was consciously “backing off” this time around
- Going into London, Matt may look to do some sweat rate testing beforehand to ensure his fluid replacement strategy is coherent with his sweat losses, thus ensuring he does his best to offset the risk of cramps when racing full gas
Key info
Matt Fox
Male
Sweat sodium concentration
1249mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
High
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Event information
Sport
Running
Discipline
Marathon
Event
Hannover Marathon
Location
Hannover, Germany
Date
26th March, 2023
Website
Total Distance
42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Elevation
130m / 427ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Cold
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
5°C / 41°F
Max Temp
9°C / 48°F
Avg Temp
7°C / 45°F
Humidity
83%
Athlete feedback
Energy levels
10/10
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
No cramping
Matt's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 240 | 1,300 | 1,175 | 270 | 1,106 |
| Per hour | 101 | 545 | 493 | 113 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
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.