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
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 intake | 125 | 0 | 800 | 0 | 0 |
| Per hour | 45 | 0 | 290 | 0 | |
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.