Simen's headline numbers
Simen'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.
Simen was confined to eating pre-race food supplied by the event, so on the day of the event he ate pasta as part of his carb loading, which contained some vegetables he wouldn’t normally eat and that he believes led to some GI discomfort early on. Simen managed to combat this by sticking to a solid fueling strategy during the rest of the race. He ate small amounts frequently, using his crew effectively to ensure he met his energy requirements. Simen averaged ~115g of carb per hour over the race and even though these numbers are on the upper end of what we would normally recommend, Simen experienced no GI issues as the race progressed, thanks largely to the years of gut training he had undergone prior to the race.
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.
Given Simen’s losses are High (1,310mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it’s hot and/or humid.
Learn moreAfter conducting extensive sweat rate testing to replicate Badwater conditions, Simen found his sweat rate was high (~2.5L per hour) and he combined the practicalities of the race with this data to develop his hydration plan. Having frequent access to crew members helped Simen drink a lot of cold fluid, meaning he replenished the majority of his sweat losses and was able to control his core body temperature. Unfortunately, due to some logistical planning oversights, his crew ran out of Simen’s go-to PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and PH 1500 (Drink Mix) ~90 miles into the race, but he adjusted well by switching to the PH 1000 for the remaining 45 miles, whilst also consuming 24 Electrolyte Capsules, to keep the relative sodium concentration of his intake similar to his sweat losses.
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.
Considering this was such a long event, Simen could’ve used caffeine a little more to his advantage. He consumed a large caffeine dose (three coffees) ahead of the race and then took on a small dose of 1.13mg/kg during the almost 23 hours he was out on course. As an athlete with a high caffeine tolerance we would recommend Simen targets the upper end of the recommended guidelines over an event of this long duration, and look to implement a little but frequent dosing plan to get the most out of caffeine’s ergogenic effects.
How Simen hit his numbers
Here's everything that Simen ate and drank on the day...
Simen's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
PF&HSimen's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.