Pierre Meslet
Manchester Marathon
Pierre's headline numbers
Pierre's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
Pierre pre-fueled effectively ahead of the race start by eating a carb-rich breakfast and he then topped off his energy stores in the last 30 minutes with a PF 30 Caffeine Gel. This would have tactically ensured his blood glucose levels were peaking on the start line and increased carbohydrate availability for the race. During the race, Pierre used a combination of gels and chews, whilst carrying a 500ml Soft Flask containing a carb-rich drink mix. After undertaking structured gut training designed to increase his ability to consume more carb, he was able to surpass 90g of carb per hour and felt comfortable doing so, rating his gastrointestinal comfort on the day as 10 out of 10.
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.
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 Pierre’s losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreWith cooler temperatures, as expected during a UK-based race, Pierre’s sweat losses were likely lower than he usually experiences in his warmer races and so, his fluid intake fell closely in line with this. Despite this, subjective feedback from Pierre suggests that he felt he needed more fluid during the race, experiencing some cramp towards the end and also reporting that he felt quite thirsty. Similar to his fluid intake, he felt as though he also could have consumed a little more sodium towards the back end of the marathon. In future, it would be beneficial for Pierre to listen to his body and drink a greater absolute volume of fluid, and increase his sodium intake to keep a strong relative sodium concentration alongside this, for example with the use of Electrolyte Capsules.
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.
Pierre’s caffeine intake fell in line with the scientific guidelines for a race of this distance and intensity. The PF 30 Caffeine Gel he consumed in the last 30 minutes before the race and further two he consumed at intervals during the race would have helped him reap the ergogenic benefits of the stimulant, delaying fatigue and reducing his perception of effort.
How Pierre hit his numbers
Here's everything that Pierre ate and drank on the day...
Pierre's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HPierre's full stats
Data Confidence?
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).