Raff Hussey
London Marathon
Raff's headline numbers
Raff'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.
After having such a good race at his first-ever marathon in Valencia, Raff chose to implement a very similar fueling strategy in London. Unfortunately, some last-minute injury concerns pumped the brakes on his PB attempt. Despite this, he stuck to his planned carb intake to help control the controllables and keep his energy levels high whilst soaking up the London atmosphere. He once again smashed the general recommendations for an event of this length and intensity, and with no reported GI distress, he has clearly found a strategy that works for him.
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 Raff’s losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreSimilarly to his fueling strategy, Raff’s planned hydration strategy was identical to Valencia, where he appropriately matched his sweat and sodium losses to avoid any effects of dehydration. This time around, he drank slightly more plain water from the on-course aid stations, meaning his average relative sodium concentration was slightly lower (463mg/L vs 758mg/L), but still well within the recommended range for someone of his sweat sodium concentration. He never felt thirsty during the race, and his post-run hydration perception suggested he was in a good place.
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.
As someone who frequents the office coffee machine daily, Raff’s perceived tolerance to caffeine is quite high. As a result, he chose to aim for the top end of the scientific recommendations for performance benefit. Once again he subjectively reaped the rewards from the stimulant, and had it not been for his injury stifling the final few kilometers, then we’re sure he would’ve clocked another sub 3.
How Raff hit his numbers
Here's everything that Raff ate and drank on the day...
Raff's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HRaff'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).