Canberra Marathon

After working with the PF&H Sports Science team ahead of her debut marathon, Renee executed a well-rehearsed and consistent fueling strategy. She took a PF 30 Gel every 40 minutes for the first 2 hours, then switched to every 30 minutes, ultimately hitting the recommended 60g/h. Having practised this plan in training, she tolerated it comfortably at race intensity despite the added nerves of her marathon debut. This steady stream of carbs helped maintain her energy from start to finish. Ahead of her next marathon, Renee is focused on improving her pre-race fueling, particularly her carb load. She felt she could optimise it in terms of the amount of carbohydrate consumed (moving closer toward the recommended 8-12g/kg/day range) as well as in the type of foods she ate (more energy dense sources) to better support her performance.

Renee avoided the common mistake marathon runners make of over-drinking plain water ahead of a race, and she instead followed our recommended preloading protocol of drinking PH 1500 the night before and again on race morning, ensuring she started optimally hydrated. During the run, Renee stuck to her plan of drinking a 500ml soft flask of PH 1500 before taking an Electrolyte Capsule with each of her Gels to continue to replace a good proportion of the sodium she was losing in her sweat. However, after finishing her soft flask, Renee only took one cup of the on-course drink mix and no additional water, leaving her average fluid intake low, under 200ml/h. In the warm, humid conditions, a higher fluid intake from aid stations would’ve helped her replace more of her fluid losses and avoid low blood volume, aka dehydration, which can increase the risk of cramp. Cramping is caused by a combination of factors, one being fluid and electrolyte balance; so, taking on more water in relation to the Electrolyte Capsules she consumes would help reduce the risk of cramps in future races.

Renee interspersed two PF 30 Caffeine Gels throughout her fueling strategy in an attempt to benefit from the stimulant's performance-enhancing effects. She fell just short of the recommended 3mg/kg dose for endurance exercise of 3-5 hours, so she may want to consider one additional PF 30 Caffeine Gel within the final 30 minutes pre-race to peak the level of caffeine in her system.