• Jason has an impressive winning record over the 70.3 distance since switching his focus to middle-distance racing in 2021. This race in Augusta saw him produce another blistering run split (1:07:24) to land himself on the top step of the podium for a fifth time during the calendar year
• As someone with a Sports Science background, Jason knows the importance of race nutrition (often called the “fourth discipline” of triathlon), and made sure to execute a robust fuel and hydration strategy en route to victory
• Jason started working with the PF&H Sports Science team through the latter part of the 2022 season to refine his fuel and hydration plan for 70.3 racing, and he executed his personalised strategy with great success in Augusta

Hydration

• Jason undertook a preloading protocol to top up his sodium levels by drinking ~500ml/16oz of PH 1000 (Tablet) with his breakfast the morning of the race. He also drank ~500ml/16oz PH 1500 (Drink Mix) within the last half an hour before the swim start
• This will have helped increase Jason’s sodium levels, but perhaps won’t have elicited the maximal benefit of blood plasma volume expansion associated with a strong electrolyte drink. Furthermore, drinking 500ml/16oz of PH 1500 within the last 30 minutes of the race, may not have allowed enough time to fully absorb the electrolytes, thus diminishing the maximal benefit
• In future, Jason should aim to drink 500ml/16oz PH 1500 the night before, and the morning of the race, aiming to finish this drink around 45 minutes before the race start to allow maximal absorption and his body to flush out any excess
• On the bike, he picked up a ~600ml/20oz bottle of plain water, which coupled with his ~1.1L/60oz integrated hydration bottle (containing ~1,900mg of sodium) and the small amount of sodium in his gels, gave him a relative sodium concentration of ~1,287mg per litre
• Jason has a low sweat sodium concentration of 512mg/L, but his high sweat rate of over 2.5L/80oz per hour in hot conditions means the sodium concentration of his drinks is often stronger to help limit the impact of his losses
• During the run his fluid intake dropped, and the only electrolytes he took were from the small amounts in his gels. He drank just ~250ml/8oz of water, which gave him a relative sodium concentration of ~887mg/L due to the small fluid volume
• It’s typical to see drop off in intake when comparing a triathlete's bike and run legs. As Jason experienced no dehydration-related signs or symptoms, it’s likely that his 'front-loading' strategy on the bike set him up for a much lower fluid intake on the run without impairing his performance
• For longer and hotter races, Jason should look to increase his fluid intake on the run to ensure he doesn’t experience hydration related issues such as cramps, nausea and/or reduced performance

Fueling

Conclusions

• Jason has spent considerable time refining his fuel and hydration strategy for middle distance racing, and by using his scientific knowledge and experience has executed this plan well
• In future, when racing in warmer conditions, he should look to dial in his preloading protocol, along with increasing his fluid and electrolyte intake on the run to reflect increases in his sweat rate, perhaps by utilising a couple of Electrolyte Capsules