• Emma suffered a DNF (did not finish) at her previous race in brutally hot conditions at Clash Miami, where she endured some issues with heat management. Emma was understandably keen to avoid any repeats at Challenge Riccione and sat down with the Precision Fuel & Hydration Sports Science team to refine her hydration strategy ahead of Challenge Riccione
• Emma followed our recommendation to increase the relative sodium concentration of her intake and executed a near-perfect hydration strategy during a dominant performance that saw her win by more than 8 minutes in Italy

Hydration

• Emma preloaded effectively prior to this race by drinking PH 1500, a strategy that helped ensure she started in a well hydrated state. In the past, Emma has consumed too much plain water in advance of races, particularly when conditions are expected to be hot, so she's keen to make sure she's consuming fluids with a higher electrolyte content going into races
• During the bike, Emma carried one 1.5L/51oz hydration system and one 750ml/24oz bottle both containing PF 30 Drink Mix and PH 1500 Drink Mix. She finished her 1.5L/51oz 'batwing' bladder and drank approximately two thirds of the 750ml/24oz bottle before dropping it on the third lap
• In addition to this, she grabbed three bottles of plain water from the aid stations and drank “a few big gulps” from each before discarding them (approximately 360ml/12oz of fluid in total)
• On the run, Emma picked up ~12 cups of plain water and ~6 cups of the energy drink mix from six on-course aid stations
• On average, Emma drank ~737ml/24oz per hour across the race, drinking a greater volume of ~1.05L/h (32oz/h) on the bike and a lesser volume of ~444ml/h (15oz/h) on the run. Temperatures in the race were moderate (~15℃/59℉) and Emma’s fluid intake was in line with the volumes we usually see her drink (>1L/32oz per hour on the bike and ~300-400ml/10-13oz per hour on the run)
• Emma has focused on introducing more sodium to her strategy for longer training sessions and races as this will help counter her sweat sodium losses, which are in large part caused by her very high sweat rate (Emma can lose ~2.5L/h (85oz/hr) in very hot climates). Whilst Emma has a low sweat sodium concentration (716mg/L), her total sweat losses can be significant as a result of her sweat rate and incidences of severe dehydration coupled with sodium depletion (a condition called hypovolemic hyponatremia) in hot/humid climates has been an ongoing challenge for her to manage
• Emma did a great job of increasing her sodium intake in this race. On average, the relative sodium concentration (a measure of the sodium-fluid ratio) of her intake was the highest we’ve seen her consume (~1193mg/L). Understandably, this was greatest on the bike (~1412mg/L) when she was drinking fluids mostly containing PH 1500
• When asked how Emma felt about her hydration strategy during the race she commented that she felt she “got it right”

Fueling

Conclusions

• All in all, Emma enjoyed a fantastic race at Challenge Riccione, executing a robust hydration plan by incorporating more sodium into her pre-mixed bottles on the bike and preloading effectively
• There was a drastic difference between the amount of carbohydrate Emma took on the bike versus the run which was an acceptable strategy to implement on this occasion as Emma took a quantity on the bike which afforded her to be more lenient on the run. We've advised Emma to consider carrying a gel or two with her on the run in future to help increase her carb intake and make sure her energy levels remain high