• Fenella had shipped her own race nutrition products from the U.K. to Germany in advance of flying out for the race, only to find that Brexit really does mean Brexit after all and that they would not be arriving on time (We know her pain all too well!)
• Luckily, fellow PH athlete Laura Siddall was also racing and she very kindly shared some of her PF 30 Gels and an assortment of our electrolytes with Fenella before the race!
• We helped Fenella create a new plan based on what she was able to get her hands on and she executed that really well, coming in 3rd in a time of 8 hours 27 minutes

Hydration

• Fenella has clearly read Andy's blog explaining how to start hydrated, as she used a textbook preloading strategy by mixing PH 1500 with ~500ml (~16oz) of water before the race
• This meant she started the race well hydrated, which was important in the relatively warm conditions she faced in Roth (temperature range: ~12-25℃ / 54-77°F)
• Fenella’s sodium intake during the race was ~4,954mg in total, which equated to an average intake of 586mg/hr across the race
• Despite drinking what on the surface looks like a satisfactory amount of fluid, Fenella mentioned feeling particularly thirsty
• It’s plausible that her thirst may have been a consequence of most of her fluids being carb-rich drinks (on the bike she had four bottles each containing PF 30 gels, PH tablets and one with additional energy drink mix) rather than more thirst-quenching options like hypotonic drink mixes or even plain water. For more on why hypotonic drinks are better for hydration, check out this blog
• We've recommended Fenella collects sweat rate data so we can better understand her sodium and fluid intake requirements in relation to her sweat losses
• The relative sodium concentration of Fenella's intake was ~886mg/L. Going forwards, Fenella could consider increasing her sodium intake in hotter conditions by using PH 1500 in her bottles instead of PH 1000, particularly as her Sweat Test showed she loses an above-average 1,331mg of sodium per litre of sweat

Fueling

Conclusions

• Fenella had a solid race at Roth, coming in 3rd against some tough opposition. She raced hard and executed her adjusted hydration and nutrition plan well.
• She rated her race satisfaction as 6-7 out of 10. She was able to consume a decent amount of carbohydrate and, going forward, keeping this up on the run leg would help keep her energy levels up right until the finish line