< Back to case studies
48th

Oliver Hobson's scorecard

La Rochelle Marathon

Sunday 28th November, 2021

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

  • 45g

    Carb per hour
  • 0mg

    Sodium per hour
  • 290ml

    Fluid per hour
  • 0mg/L

    Relative sodium concentration
  • 0mg

    Total caffeine
  • How Oliver hit those numbers

    finish
    star
    bottle
     
    500ml x PH 500 (Tablet)
    2 x Slices of toast with jam
    1 x Black coffee
    1 x Banana
     
     
    4 x PF 30 Energy Gel
    800ml x Plain water
    1 x Fruit paste
     

    How Oliver's hydration and fueling went...

      • Young triathlete, Oliver Hobson, had an excellent marathon debut at the La Rochelle Marathon in France at the end of November. With an average pace of 3:56min/km, Oliver finished 48th out of 913 competitors in a time of 2 hours and 45 minutes
      • Oliver said “I’m new to marathon running so I’m very pleased with my performance. I did better than I thought I would but now I realise I can do even better” and he rated his overall race satisfaction at 8.5 out of 10
      • In cold, wet conditions (9℃/48°F) he performed well using a simple fueling and hydration strategy over the race made up predominantly of plain water and PF 30 Energy Gels

    Hydration

      • In total Oliver drank ~800ml/27oz over the race which equates to an average of ~290ml/10oz per hour. We don’t have information about Oliver’s sweat rate, but the conditions were cold and wet (9℃/48°F) which most likely means his losses would have been on the lower side. This was reinforced by Oliver who said “it was cold during the race so I didn’t sweat that much, therefore I didn’t feel I needed too much fluid”
      • Oliver drank as and when he felt he needed to, which was around ~100ml/3oz every 5km
      • To start well hydrated, Oliver preloaded before the race by drinking PH 500. Before future races, we recommend he drink a stronger electrolyte drink (PH 1500) to maximise his blood volume and optimise his pre-race hydration status
      • During the race, he didn’t consume any sodium. Oliver hasn’t had a Sweat Test yet so we don’t know his sweat sodium concentration, but taking into account the cold conditions and minimal sweating it can be assumed that his net sweat sodium losses wouldn’t have been extensive
      • Oliver didn’t cramp during the race and felt his hydration strategy was good, rating it an 8 out of 10

    Fueling

    Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

    30g

    carb 30 mins before

    60-90g

    carb per hour during
      • Before the 9:00am race start, Oliver ate a breakfast consisting of two slices of toast with jam (~30g carb), a banana (~27g carb) and a black coffee. This is a good pre-race meal to increase his glycogen stores ahead of the early race start; the general recommendation to maximise endurance performance is between 1-4g carb per kilogram of bodyweight 1-4 hours before the race
      • Oliver may also benefit from taking a final ~30g carb, for example in the form of a gel, in the last 30 minutes before the race. We have seen other marathon runners use this technique as a final fuel top up to spare glycogen stores for later in the race
      • During the run, Oliver had 4 PF 30 Gels, one around 10km, 20km, 30km and 36km. He also had a little bit of fruit paste from an aid station 30km in. Spreading his intake out is ideal to continually get the carbs in to fuel his performance
      • Using this strategy, he hit an average of ~45g carb per hour, over the marathon. Considering he fueled well before the race, this is a decent amount which fueled him throughout as he said his energy “felt great during the race”. However, given the positive trend between carbohydrate intake and performance, we would recommend Oliver tries to push towards and above 60g/hr in future marathon races, especially given the high intensity he was racing at.
      • Oliver didn’t experience any GI issues during the race. He said “I have used PF Gels for a while now so my body is used to them. Same for the breakfast I eat, it’s always the same before racing”. This comfort level bodes well for Oliver increasing his intake in future races
      • His pre-race coffee will have been advantageous prior to the race as caffeine has a half-life (time it takes for the concentration consumed to decrease by half) of ~5 hours so would have still been in his system to boost his performance (learn more). Oliver could considering having some caffeine during the race as well to try and enhance his performance, as it has been found to reduce perceptions of effort

    Conclusions

      • Oliver raced well in his first marathon to produce a solid performance using a simple but effective hydration and fueling strategy
      • He fueled well with PF 30 Gels throughout the race, but could look to increase his carb intake above 60g/hr with the aim to enhance performance. This may involve some gut training to increase his carb tolerance while experiencing no GI issues

    Key info

    Oliver Hobson

    Male

    Result

    Position
    48th
    Overall Time
    2:45:46

    Event information

    Sport
    Running
    Discipline
    Marathon
    Event
    La Rochelle Marathon
    Location
    La Rochelle, France
    Date
    28th November, 2021
    Website
    Total Distance
    42.2km / 26.2mi

    Race conditions

    Weather Conditions
    Cold
    Precipitation
    Rain
    Min Temp
    9°C / 48°F
    Max Temp
    9°C / 48°F
    Avg Temp
    9°C / 48°F
    Humidity
    66%

    Athlete feedback

    Race Satisfaction
    8/10
    Hydration rating
    8/10
    It was a bit cold during the race so I didn't sweat that much, therefore I didn't feel like I needed too much
    Energy levels
    7/10
    My energy was great during the race. From 32-38km I had a rough spot but didn't hit any wall
    Toilet stops
    No
    GI comfort
    8/10
    Cramping
    No cramping

    Oliver's Thoughts

     I am new to marathon running so I am very pleased with my performance. I did better than I thought I would but now I realise that I can do even better!

    Oliver's full stats

     Carbohydrate (g)Sodium (mg)Fluid (ml)Caffeine (mg)Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
    Overall
    Total intake125080000
    Per hour4502900

    Data Confidence

    marker-icon

    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.

    Oliver's recent case studies

    see all

    Related case studies

    Nail your next event with a FREE Fuel & Hydration Plan
    Get started