Challenge Roth

Josh has maintained a similar full-distance fueling strategy since his maiden IRONMAN® in Cascais at the end of 2023. This strategy involved relying on PF 300 Flow Gel and PF Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix during the bike to hit his targeted high carb intake, and some PF 30 Caffeine Gels and on-course isotonic drinks during the run. Towards the final quarter of the bike course, after several ‘surges’ well above his pre-race target power output, he felt a bit low on energy. This was despite averaging ~123g of carb per hour over the 180kms (112 miles), but it was likely due to the exertional muscle fatigue rather than carb depletion per se. On the run, his carb intake remained solid, but a later-than-planned top-up from his special needs aid station (at ~31km rather than ~24km) meant his energy levels began to plummet for the final ~10km (6.2 miles). Going forward, he’ll ensure his team is ready when he needs them, and perhaps carry some backup gels with him just in case.

Even in the relatively mild conditions on race day, having suffered from dehydration and cramping in previous races, Josh made sure he ‘front-loaded’ his fluid and electrolyte intake with a higher-than-recommended relative sodium concentration in his bottles on the bike. This prepared him well for the natural drop-off in fluid and electrolyte consumption on the run that we typically see from our database of triathlon case studies, due to the challenge of carrying fluid and drinking on the run. Josh’s average fluid consumption fell by ~55% from bike to run, which is a larger drop off compared to the average from our current full-distance case studies (~15%). So, perhaps drinking more during the run to replace a greater proportion of his fluid losses may have helped alleviate the cramps he experienced towards the end. We don’t have any data on Josh’s sweat rate, but testing this ahead of his next full distance race will help ensure he’s limiting the extent to which dehydration may be affecting his performance.

Josh chose to save the effects of caffeine until the latter parts of this race, hoping he would feel the benefits more obviously when things started to get tough. This worked well, as the three PF 30 Caffeine Gels he took during the run had the desired effect, and helped limit his perceived effort and reduce overall muscle pain.