Snowdon Ultra 50 Miles

Melinda’s carbohydrate intake was impressive and very close to the 75g/h recommended by the Fuel & Hydration Planner for a race of this length and intensity. Her strategy was to rotate between a PF 30 Gel, a chew, another gel, then an energy bar whilst sipping on PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix to avoid the dreaded ‘flavour fatigue’, which can strike during events of this duration. Thankfully, as she has rigorously trained her gut to absorb this quantity of carb during long sessions without issue, she rated her GI comfort a solid 9 (out of 10) for the first 10 hours or so. This rating did fall to a six out of ten towards the end as the race “became mentally really tough”.

During the race, Melinda ran with a backpack that held her energy supplies, and this was equipped with two 500ml Soft Flasks, which she filled up regularly at checkpoints along the route. After working closely with the PF&H Sports Science team, her strategy was to always carry one soft flask with plain water and one with PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, to keep her palate fresh. Melinda is yet to have a Sweat Test to measure her sweat sodium concentration, but given her regular intake of sodium and the mild temperatures (averaging 15℃/59℉), along with her not cramping, it suggests she replaced a good amount of her sweat losses and therefore, it didn’t negatively impact her performance.

If used strategically, caffeine can provide a real performance boost, especially during ultras. Melinda did just that, even though her intake was above the scientific recommendations. We see a lot of athletes who do events of this duration take a higher dose than suggested, as they're working for long enough that caffeine is fully metabolised, meaning top ups are required.