• 2022 was a breakout year for Fenella, who came 2nd at Challenge Roth, with a time of 8:31:41, and she was aiming to replicate a fueling and hydration strategy that had served her well in that race for her first IRONMAN World Championship on ‘The Big Island’
• She swam with the front pack, clocked the fastest time through T1 and bridged the gap to leader, Lucy Charles-Barclay, in the opening miles. She pushed the pace with Lucy on the bike and lead for a significant proportion of the ride, before being caught and passed by Daniela Ryf around 5 miles before T2
• Fenella then backed up a very strong ride with a solid 3:16:30 marathon, finishing in 6th place. An excellent performance for her debut World Champs in Kona with a solid execution of her race nutrition strategy

Hydration

• Fenella sensibly preloaded both the night before and the morning of the race using PH 1500 (Tablets) to ensure that she started optimally hydrated with her blood plasma volume fully topped off
• After the swim, Fenella hopped onto her bike which was fully stocked with three pre-mixed bottles and picked another up at special needs, all of which provided carbohydrate in the form of three dissolved PF 30 Gels and electrolytes from half a serving of PF Energy Drink Mix alongside ~690ml (~24oz) of water
• Fenella knows that she has a high sweat sodium concentration (1,331mg/L) after having a Sweat Test, so she was aware that drink mix alone wouldn’t provide enough for her to see out the race. To solve this issue, she carried and consumed 20 Electrolyte Capsules (taking 2 every half an hour) which provided the majority of her sodium
• This resulted in an intake of ~5.3L (~180oz) fluid (~1,126ml/h / 38oz/h) whilst she was on the bike (~59% more than she drank in Roth), with a relative sodium concentration of 1,130mg/L, which will have certainly replaced a good proportion of her losses
• Fenella ran out of T2 with yet another Electrolyte Capsule that she took in with a 500ml/16oz soft flask which contained PH 1000 (Tablet). She then utilised the professional aid stations well, picking up no less than five 500ml (16oz) bottles which all contained PH 1000 (Tablets) and a total of eight more Electrolyte Capsules
• Alongside this she took 16 cups of water and 16 cups of Energy Drink from the regular on-course aid stations, resulting in her intake being ~1.5L/h (48oz/h) on the run with a relative sodium concentration of ~1,235mg/L (mg/32oz). This undoubtedly replaced a good proportion of her sweat losses in these brutal conditions and likely helped her avoid cramping up on the day
• There is some scientific evidence that the gut struggles to absorb fluid volumes of more than ~1.5L (48oz). And, while Fenella has undergone some rigorous gut training in recent times, this was likely a contributing factor to her feeling a bit nauseous during the last 10km of the marathon
• We’ve noticed that, whilst a lot of triathletes try to ‘frontload’ their fluid intake while they’re on the bike, Fenella has actually consumed more on the run than the bike in some of the races we have analysed. Aiming to get more in on the bike so that she can decrease her consumption on the run might be something Fenella could look at to see if it reduces the nausea she sometimes experiences towards the end of the race

Fueling

Conclusions

• Fenella raced very courageously at her first IRONMAN World Championships in Kona. She executed her fueling and hydration strategy brilliantly, feeling no particular energy dips throughout the race, and had the ability to pee right away after the race for doping control (suggesting minimal dehydration)
• Going forward, Fenella may want to look at the timing of her fluid intake and how much she can tolerate on the run to see whether adjusting this can reduce the nausea she sometimes experiences towards the end of the race