Precision Fuel & Hydration IRONMAN 70.3® World Championship

Thanks to plenty of gut training and practice, Jess has found the right combination of PF&H products, including PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix, PF 30 Caffeine Gels, PF 30 Chews and PF 30 Gels that works well to meet her racing energy demands. She implemented this strategy effectively in Marbella, using a PF 60 Chew Bar and pack of PF 30 Chews on the bike - products that aren’t as commonly used during middle distance races but ones that allowed Jess to avoid flavour fatigue whilst hitting her carb targets. Compared to the ~69g/h she averaged at IRONMAN 70.3® Kraichgau in 2024, she averaged the recommended 90g/h here in Marbella, hitting ~97g/h on the bike before a small drop to ~87g/h on the run.

After getting through one bottle of PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix and another of PH 1500 on the bike, Jess picked up two additional bottles of PH 1000 (Tablets) from the on-course aid stations to take her fluid intake just over 1L per hour, a solid effort to keep up with her sweat losses in the warm conditions across the hilly course. However, her intake dropped by ~50% per hour on the run, where she averaged only ~422ml/h, as she struggled to take on fluid from the aid station cups. Luckily she utilised two pro aid stations to pick up flasks of concentrated electrolytes and continue to replace some of her losses. Taking on a higher relative sodium concentration than her losses will have aided with fluid retention, but further data on her fluid losses in warm conditions suggest that a higher fluid intake alongside this could have been beneficial.

After a tough night's sleep (thanks to her toddler Fred), Jess used a high but familiar caffeine dose, made up of five PF 30 Caffeine Gels across race day in an attempt to increase her focus and perceived energy levels. While this put her slightly above the recommended range, she has a strong individual tolerance and has used similar quantities in past races without issues.