1st

Robyn Cassidy's scorecard

Helvellyn Sky Ultra

Saturday 15th July, 2023

Within recommended ranges

Just outside recommended ranges

Significantly outside recommended ranges

62g

Carb per hour

269mg

Sodium per hour

375ml

Fluid per hour

717mg/L

Relative sodium concentration

0mg

Total caffeine

How Robyn hit those numbers

How Robyn's hydration and fueling went...

In preparation for her ‘A’ race of the year, the epic six-day Dragon’s Back ultra, Robyn Cassidy took part in the Lake District’s Helvellyn Sky Ultra
After mixed successes with her fuel and hydration strategy in 2023, this race allowed Robyn to test her latest strategy at a course which replicates a similar experience to day one of the Dragon’s Back
Despite storms (and therefore a shortened, flatter route of 42km / 26 miles), Robyn executed a solid performance to finish 1st! She implemented the majority of her plan but experienced some dips and difficulties towards the back end of the race that she’ll be looking to iron out at the Dragon’s Back…

Hydration

For the first time before a race, Robyn followed a preloading protocol by drinking 500ml (16oz) of PH 1500, both the night before and morning of the race, and as a result she reported feeling “really hydrated at the start”
Robyn’s hydration strategy during the race was predominantly made up of two 500ml (16oz) bottles of PF 60 Drink Mix. She refilled one bottle with plain water at ~16km (10 miles) and the other with the on course electrolyte mix (312mg sodium) at ~30km (18.5 miles)
Robyn had intended to fill up her bottles at the three available water stops and mix in PH 1000 to drink a total of 3L (96oz). However, on the day Robyn didn’t drink as much as she had planned, her drinking “slowed down from halfway” because she “didn’t want to drink any large volumes due to a sloshing feeling” in her stomach
Instead she drank a total of ~1.8L (63oz) which averaged out as ~375ml (13oz) per hour, but was greater towards the start of the race and tapered off. Although we don’t know Robyn’s exact sweat losses over the race, from her subjective feedback and post-race headache and dark pee colour, it was likely she was under doing her fluid intake
On top of this, Robyn’s fluid intake early on in the race was solely made up of energy drink mix. This initial carb quantity is more than she had taken on previously and taking in this much carb-rich liquid early on can cause it to rush to the gut and overwhelm the intestines’ capacity to absorb, which can lead to the discomfort and bloating she reported
Robyn may wish for one of her bottles to be solely hydration focused, for example containing PH 1000, in an attempt to avoid these issues and allow her to drink more fluid over the race
Robyn consumed a relative sodium concentration of ~717mg per litre (32oz) from PF 60 Drink Mix and the on course electrolyte drink. On the surface, this seemed like an adequate sodium intake alongside the low volume of fluid she drank, but going forward collecting sweat rate data and getting a sweat test will help Robyn dial in her hydration strategy further

Fueling

Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation

30g

carb 30 mins before

60-90g

carb per hour during

Robyn followed a textbook pre-race fueling plan by consuming a carb-rich breakfast in the morning to top up her glycogen stores, alongside a cup of coffee to get caffeine in her bloodstream in attempt to benefit from its ergogenic effects later in the day
She may want to practise implementing a final carb dose within the last 30 minutes before the race, for example having a PF 30 Gel or PF 30 Chew, to spike her blood glucose as she begins the run and stave off using her glycogen stores until later on
During the race, Robyn’s carbohydrate intake predominantly came from PF 60 Drink Mix and a range of gels (aiming for 1-2 per hour). She also supplemented this with a pack of PF 30 Chews and half an energy bar she picked up on course, which is a good way to get extra fuel on board and avoid flavour fatigue
This meant Robyn averaged ~62g/h over the 4 hours and 48 minutes. This is a solid intake for Robyn who has previously taken in much lower levels of carbohydrate and has been training her gut by gradually building up her intake in training sessions
Robyn started with an effective timing strategy by fueling 30 minutes into the race, instead of waiting until 60 minutes in as she had previously. She had planned to fuel every 30 minutes but lost track of this towards the second half of the race
In line with losing track of her fueling, Robyn mentioned that although her GI comfort and energy levels started high (10/10), around the halfway point she had some GI stress (6/10) and from 30km her energy levels dipped to 4 or 5 out of 10
As Robyn started out with her two 500ml (16oz) bottles of PF 60 Drink Mix and her proactive gel strategy, her carb intake was likely higher in the first two hours and lower for the latter part of the race. Therefore, she was likely taking on more than she had previously used (40-50g/h) at a high race intensity which could have further led to her gut discomfort
Robyn should continue to train her gut to increase her tolerance for 60g/h+ because greater carb quantities are crucial for endurance performance, especially over multi-day ultras like Robyn’s next race
Caffeine has a half life of ~4-5 hours, therefore Robyn may have also benefited from periodically replenishing the levels of caffeine in her blood in an attempt to retain the benefits

Conclusions

Overall, Robyn had a great result at the reduced distance Helvellyn Sky Ultra and was “happy with the outcome and result”, but knows there were areas that “could have been better” so rated her race satisfaction a 6 out of 10
Robyn fueled and hydrated well ahead of the race and started excellently. Going forward with her multi-day ultra later in 2023 in mind, the focus for Robyn will be to continue to train her gut to tolerate higher carb quantities and being more proactive with her hydration strategy

Key info

Robyn Cassidy

Female

Result

Position

1st

Overall Time

4:48:27

Event information

Sport

Running

Discipline

Ultra

Event

Helvellyn Sky Ultra

Location

Cumbria, England

Date

15th July, 2023

Website

Show me

Total Distance

42.0km / 26.1mi

Total Elevation

1,950m / 6,398ft

Race conditions

Weather Conditions

Mild

Precipitation

Rain

Min Temp

13°C / 55°F

Max Temp

17°C / 63°F

Avg Temp

14°C / 57°F

Humidity

85%

Athlete feedback

Race Satisfaction

6/10

Hydration rating

6/10

Felt I had a good plan and started well but got a sloshing feeling in my stomach halfway through

Energy levels

7/10

Started at a 9 but dropped throughout and then were quite low (4/5) from the 30km mark

Toilet stops

GI comfort

8/10

I felt great (10) until about half way then I struggled to eat and drink as much as I would have liked

Cramping

No cramping

Robyn's full stats

	Carbohydrate (g)	Sodium (mg)	Fluid (ml)	Caffeine (mg)	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)
Overall
Total intake	296	1,291	1,800	0	Relative sodium concentration (mg/L)	717
Per hour	62	269	375	0		717

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.

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