Kate Curran
T100 Ibiza
Ibiza15th, FPROKate's headline numbers
Kate's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I felt well fueled throughout, aside from feeling a bit weak in the first 20 minutes of the bike due to a tougher-than-expected swim."
After consuming ~72 grams of carb per hour at the 2024 IRONMAN 70.3® European Championships in Tallinn, Kate upped her game here and consumed well over 90g/h of carbs to sustain her performance at the highest level required in a T100 race. She fueled mostly via PF 300 Flow Gel to keep things simple. In future races, Kate could try slightly reducing her carb intake and bringing in more specific gut training during intense training sessions to help improve her GI comfort, as unfortunately, she struggled with stomach sickness on the bike.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Kate573mg/L
Kate has been Sweat Tested to dial in her hydration plan
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Whilst Kate's losses are on the low side, getting her hydration strategy right is still crucial when it's hot and/or humid as her higher sweat rate in these conditions can result in significant net losses over the duration of a race.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I’ve been experiencing some discomfort while drinking on the bike during races, which stopped this from having a higher rating. I felt I got the volumes right, aside from maybe slightly under-drinking on the bike. "
Even though Kate is not a very salty sweater, she is still recommended to preload with PH 1500 before the race, and she executed this part of the plan to reap the benefits of increased blood plasma volume. She adjusted the relative sodium concentration of her drinks using PH 500 (Tablets) to support her hydration status while on the bike, but fell short of replacing her sodium losses on the run. Going forward, we’d recommend she carry Electrolyte Capsules to pair with the plain fluids she enjoys picking up from the aid stations to make sure she stays on top of her hydration strategy on the run.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Kate further increased her caffeine intake beyond her first case study (4.9mg/kg) to find an extra boost from the stimulant. Although she went just above the recommendations of 3-6mg/kg, she didn't report any negative side effects, suggesting there’s no reason to dial anything back.
How Kate hit her numbers
Here's everything that Kate ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“Overall I executed a good nutrition and hydration strategy. I knew keeping well-fueled throughout the day would be very important, especially given the extremely high calibre of the field and my limited preparation for this race. ”
“Kate came into this race with less-than-ideal preparation thanks to some very well-deserved time off and only a few day's notice of her late wildcard entry. So, she relied on a familiar nutrition and hydration strategy for her first T100 appearance which saw her through to a solid placing of 15th in a strong field. With a few adjustments to improve GI comfort and electrolyte replenishment, we look forward to seeing her crush her plan in her next races.”
PF&HKate's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.