Patagonman Extreme Triathlon

Josh’s final professional triathlon race saw him take on one of the most demanding triathlons on the calendar at Patagonman Xtreme Triathlon. With crew access allowed throughout, Josh had greater flexibility and control over his fueling on the go than in other full-distance races. Knowing he’d be racing hard for over 9.5 hours, he opted for a well rounded strategy that included real food, plenty of gels and a few ‘treats’ to avoid flavour fatigue. He averaged over 140g/h on the bike, using PF 300 Flow Gel, PF 30 Caffeine Gels, a banana and even a chocolate bar, before dropping to a slightly lower but still impressive 95g/h on the 4 hour run. Josh tolerated this high carb intake well, which is a testament to his years of gut training. It certainly supported his high-intensity effort on the long climbs and remote terrain, allowing him to push hard and stay mentally switched on through the closing miles.

Patagonman’s December setting in southern Chile usually calls for a conservative hydration strategy, with the cold water swim and alpine terrain. But, with race day temperatures rising unexpectedly across the bike, Josh made some sensible real-time adjustments and ultimately averaged over 1L per hour to keep up with his sweat losses. Supported by his personal crew, Josh increased his intake when he began to feel thirstier, requesting extra bottles on the bike and carrying additional soft flasks in his running vest during the marathon. He predominantly drank PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix on both the bike and run, supplementing with some water and cola. This delivered a relative sodium concentration of ~392mg/L. Although this was slightly below the ‘average concentration’ we would recommend for him without knowledge of his individual sweat sodium losses, this is a level Josh has found effective for him across races of similar durations to avoid dehydration-related issues.

Josh started the day with his usual pre-race coffee to keep his routine consistent and give a slight rise in his caffeine levels. He then spread his doses of caffeine across the race, taking four PF 30 Caffeine Gels and ~1.3L of cola across the bike and run. This brought his intake to ~8.14mg/kg, above the general guidelines, but at a suitable level given his high habitual caffeine use and the race duration. This dosing strategy would have likely helped sustain focus, alertness and perceived energy levels across the day, exactly what was needed during the 9 hours and 35 minutes of racing.