Ry Webb's scorecard
Lavaredo Ultra Trail
Friday 24th June, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 72gCarb per hour
- 666mgSodium per hour
- 577mlFluid per hour
- 1,155mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 138mgTotal caffeine
How Ry hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
1 x Bowl of pasta
1 x Cup of coffee
1 x Banana
Race - During
2.75L x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
5.75L x PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
5 x PF 30 Chews
1.6L x Plain water
4 x Energy gel (40g carb)
6 x Energy gel (29g carb)
1.35L x Cola
1.5 x Banana
0.3 x Potato
150ml x Iced Tea
- Ry Webb, an ultra-runner and coach, recently completed the Lavarado 120km trail run through the Dolomite mountains in Italy. Starting at 11pm and running throughout the night, he finished just after 2pm the following day with a time of 15 hours 21 minutes
- This challenging event consisted of 5,800m elevation, reaching altitudes of 2,600m. The extreme output required for this event resulted in Ry feeling like he was “chasing hydration” towards the end when the sun came out in full force
- Despite not being totally happy with how his fueling and hydration went on the day, Ry secured a brilliant 35th place out of a total 1,136 participants
Hydration
- With the race starting extremely late in the evening (11:00pm), Ry had the additional challenge of eating and drinking appropriately throughout the day to ensure he was setting off feeling alert and well-fueled. One thing Ry could consider before future races is preloading with a strong electrolyte drink (e.g. PH 1500) to ensure he is starting the race optimally hydrated with maximal blood plasma volume
- During the event itself, he mainly relied on a 500ml/16oz bottle containing one serving of PF 30 Drink Mix mixed with PH 1500, which he re-made at each aid station for the first half of the race. This made a more concentrated drink, containing a total of ~1,000mg of sodium, which equates to a relative sodium concentration of ~2,000mg/L
- Ry’s Sweat Test revealed that he was a salty sweater, with a sweat sodium concentration of 1,228mg/L, so this strong sodium drink is aligned with our recommendations for him, when considering he would effectively dilute his intake with plain water too
- After throwing up at the start of hour 6 (something we’ve written about in Ry’s previous case study - Lakes in a Day) and with the temperature having risen, Ry struggled to keep up with his planned intake, even having to stop to fill his bottle from a stream at one point when he became “super thirsty”
- Ry did his best to adjust ‘on the fly’ by picking up ~1.6L/60oz of plain water and ~1.35L/45oz of Coca Cola across the rest of the event to stop him feeling sick. With a total fluid intake of ~8.85L/299oz, this averaged out to be ~577ml/17oz per hour, a decent intake considering the race conditions
- In the final hours, all Ry’s stomach could tolerate was ~500ml/16oz of PF 30 Drink Mix and ~500ml/16oz of Coca Cola, meaning his electrolyte intake fell away quite drastically in the tail end of the race
- This meant that he consumed an overall relative sodium concentration of ~1,155mg/L. This is appropriate for his losses.
- For future races of this duration, we would encourage Ry to carry some Electrolyte Capsules for towards the end of the race to help him keep on top of his sweat sodium losses when it becomes difficult to rely on pre-mixed bottles
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
60-90gcarb per hour during
- In the hours before the race, Ry had an early pasta dinner, which, due to its high carbohydrate content, ensured he had optimised his glycogen stores before arriving at the start line
- During the first 4 hours of the race, Ry followed a very well-structured fueling plan; eating ~90g carbs per hour in the form of one PF 30 Chew, a 30g energy gel and a 500ml/16oz bottle of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix
- Ry continued to eat gels throughout the 15-hour race but struggled to eat the chews after the first 5 hours, a possible side effect of not having enough to drink and his increasing levels of thirst
- Additionally, Ry had access to a wide variety of carbohydrate sources on course, including some ‘real foods’, like banana and potato wedges, which can be more satisfying to eat, particularly in long events like this
- Unfortunately, just after the 6-hour mark, Ry vomited at the top of a long climb. This was potentially a result of acutely overloading his gut while exerting himself fairly heavily. After this point he struggled to fuel and hydrate as previously planned and reported his energy levels dropping to a 5 (out of 10) as he “decided to settle for a slower pace”
- Although we estimate that Ry hit a solid ~72g of carb per hour, it’s realistic to assume that when he vomited he expelled a lot of his recent carbohydrate intake
- Ry’s average carb intake is within our Fuel & Hydration Planner’s recommendations for an event of this duration and intensity but given the issues he had, we would suggest that he try starting with a lower carb intake in the first few hours of the race (e.g. ~60-75g/hr) rather than 90g/hr as he did and trying to maintain this
- His carb intake largely came in liquid form, which when compared to ‘real foods’ in events of this length can be less satiating. Similarly, carb drink mixes can contribute towards stomach upset when conditions heat up during ultra endurance events as an athlete is more predisposed to consuming their carb-rich fluid at a faster rate, trying to quench their thirst, but overloading the gut in the process
- Perhaps surprisingly for an overnight event, Ry didn’t have any caffeine after his dinnertime coffee other than drinking Coca Cola. Drip feeding caffeine throughout the race, especially overnight, is an easy and effective way for many athletes to obtain a midrace mental and physical boost when the sleep demons are raging. In future, Ry could swap a couple of the non-caffeinated energy gels he took for PF 30 Caffeine Gels instead
- Throughout the 15 hour race, Ry’s total carb intake was ~1102g, averaging ~72g per hour. These numbers would have undoubtedly been even higher (in line with our Fuel & Hydration Planner output) had he felt he could stomach any more. After his bout of sickness in hour 6, his legs were left feeling “less powerful” than during the initial few hours
Conclusions
- Despite being unhappy with how his strategy played out on the day, Ry still managed to hit the recommended carb intake, crossing the finish line in 35th place
- Going forward, Ry may want to consider dialling back his volume of carbohydrate at the front end of the race so that his gut doesn’t become overwhelmed in the earlier hours
- A potential consequence of Ry’s stomach upset was a dramatic decrease in electrolyte intake throughout the race
- On the whole, this was a great opportunity for Ry to learn how he can optimise his hydration strategy for events of this length in the future, potentially utilising some Electrolyte Capsules (which are easier to carry while racing) alongside water picked up at aid stations for some additional sodium in latter stages of the race
Key info
Ry Webb
Male
Sweat sodium concentration1,228mg/L
Sweat sodium classificationHigh
* determined by our Sweat Test
Result
Position35th
Overall Time15:21:38
Event information
SportRunning
DisciplineUltra
EventLavaredo Ultra Trail
LocationDolomites, Italy
Date24th June, 2022
Total Distance120.0km / 74.6mi
Total Elevation5,826m / 19,114ft
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsMild
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp5°C / 41°F
Max Temp25°C / 77°F
Avg Temp10°C / 50°F
Humidity65%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction7/10
Hydration rating6/10Felt like I faded throughout the event, running out of PH 1500 part way through
Energy levels7/1010 initially, dropping to 5 after 6 hours
Toilet stopsYes
GI comfort7/10Initally a 9/10, before nausea and fell to a 5 after hour 6
CrampingTwinges but not full-on cramps
Ry's Thoughts
A beautiful race, which I had to complete rather than compete on this occasion
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
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).