Seb Wright
London Marathon
Seb's headline numbers
Seb'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.
Seb’s fueling plan was solid ahead of his debut marathon. He planned to get 45g/h of carb from Carb only Drink Mix in Soft Flasks and then aimed to top this up using PF30 Gels and Chews over the course of the race. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go to plan and Seb wasn’t able to pick up his second two soft flasks so had to rely on getting his carb from some sweets in the crowds. As a result, Seb experienced a dip in energy from the 30km mark onwards. In future, it would be best for Seb to plan to be self-sufficient or use the on-course aid stations. Seb managed to navigate these issues as best as he could and average an hourly carb intake of 66g which is a solid base for future increases in fueling!
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 Seb’s losses are on the moderate side, getting his hydration strategy right is still important if he wants to perform at his best.
Learn moreDespite missing his mid-race soft flask pick-up, Seb did pre-load the night before using PH 1500 and had plenty of electrolytes in his pre-made soft flasks consisting of PF Carb Only Drink Mix and PH1000 in his earlier soft flasks to not encourage too much of a sodium deficit. The plain water and energy drink he managed to get from aid stations helped him stay hydrated. Next time, we would recommend that Seb keeps some Electrolyte Capsules in his pocket too as these can be supplemented with the on-course water to help him hit his sodium numbers.
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.
Seb chose not to use caffeine during this race as he hadn’t experimented with it in training. Seb could look to try incorporating some caffeine in the latter stages of his races to give him a boost in energy and lower his perceptions of fatigue.
How Seb hit his numbers
Here's everything that Seb ate and drank on the day...
Seb's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Seb
PF&HSeb'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).