• With numerous ultra victories and recent Fastest Known Time’s to his name, Simen turned his attention to Badwater 135. The race takes place in Death Valley and has been described as “the world's toughest foot race”
• With temperatures often reaching nearly 50ºC (122ºF), Simen onced again proved his ability to compete in the heat as he finished 2nd overall and 1st male in the 35th edition of this punishing event
• Despite running out of his preferred nutrition products during the back half of the race and having to run on the white road markings to avoid his shoes melting in the extreme temperatures; Simen was extremely happy with his race execution and his fuel & hydration strategy throughout the event
• As someone who lives in the significantly cooler climes of Norway, Simen sensibly spent some time in Dubai to practise his nutrition strategy and running in the heat before the race

Hydration

• After conducting extensive sweat rate testing in Dubai to replicate Badwater conditions, Simen found his sweat rate was high (~2.5 L/h - 80oz/h) and he would combine the practicalities of the race with this data to develop his hydration plan
• During the Badwater 135, crew members are frequently accessible to aid athletes safety due to the extreme weather conditions. This frequent access helped Simen to drink a lot of cold fluid, meaning he replenished the majority of his sweat losses throughout the race and was able to cool his core temperature somewhat
• During the race, he only carried small volumes of fluid (500ml / 16oz) in soft flasks at any one time and leaned heavily on his crew so that his fluids were always cold. In hot events gaining access to fluids and having a good crew is crucial for success
• Over the 135 miles, Simen consumed a total of ~29L of fluid, averaging ~1.2L (40oz) per hour, during his sub-23 hour performance
• Simen also had a Sweat Test in the lead up to the race which identified he loses 1,310 milligrams of sodium per litre (32oz) of sweat. He was also aware from his intensive product testing in Dubai that his body tolerates both the PF 60 Energy Drink Mix (1000mg sodium per litre) and PH 1500 Packet Mixes very well. Unfortunately, due to some logistical planning oversights, his crew ran out of both of these products ~90 miles into the race and so he switched to use the lower strength PH 1000 Packets for the remaining 45 miles
• Simen also consumed 24 Electrolyte Capsules over the 135 miles in order to ensure he maintained a relative concentration of 1,410mg/L similar to his losses.

Fueling

Conclusions

• Simen was extremely happy with his race performance at Badwater 135, giving subjective ratings of 10 (out of 10) for both his race satisfaction and hydration strategy

• He reflected that next time he wouldn’t eat something different during his carb load and try harder to not switch off psychologically during the last 3 hours of the race. The dip in concentration could have been linked to the issues running out of his favourite products earlier on in the event

• Moving into Simen’s next race, we will be working closely with him on his logistical and nutrition planning to ensure he has enough product throughout the event