6th
Leon Chevalier's scorecard
IRONMAN World Championships
Saturday 7th May, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
90g
Carb per hour
720mg
Sodium per hour
892ml
Fluid per hour
808mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
521mg
Total caffeine
How Leon hit those numbers
800ml x PH 1500 (Tablets)
300g x Banana bread
400ml x Black tea
1 x Energy gel with caffeine (22g carb, 75mg caffeine)
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
2.5L x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
3 x PF 90 Energy Gel
2.4L x Plain water
2 x Energy gel with caffeine (22g carb, 75mg caffeine)
2 x Snickers
600ml x PH 1500 (Drink Mix)
4 x PF 30 Energy Gel
1.8L x Plain water
1 x Energy gel with caffeine (25g carb, 100mg caffeine)
2 x Energy gel (25g carb)
300ml x Red Bull
How Leon's hydration and fueling went...
- Leon produced an impressive debut effort at his first IRONMAN World Championship, finishing 6th in a blistering time of 08:01:41
- Leon spoke to the Precision Fuel & Hydration’s Sports Science team after the race and said: “There are some things to work on but I can’t be disappointed with 6th at my first World Championships”
- Leon nailed his pre-race plan for his fuel and hydration throughout the bike and run, feeling that “it couldn’t have gone much better”
- During the marathon, as the temperatures soared to ~35℃/94℉, Leon managed to take on ~89g of carb per hour, which helped fuel him to a 2:46 marathon
Hydration
- Leon preloaded his sodium levels the night before the race by drinking ~500ml/16oz water with one PH 1500 tablet, and by sipping on ~800ml/27oz of PH 1500 on the morning of the race
- This tactic has been used by Leon with great success in the past, ensuring his blood volume and hydration status were optimal, which was particularly important considering the hot temperatures in Utah
- Leon headed out onto the 180km bike course fully stocked with two 1L/32oz bottles and one 500ml/16oz bottle, each containing PH 1500 Drink Mix and one PF 90 Gel in each
- Leon increased his sodium content on the bike and run during this race compared to previous IM races. He took on an impressive ~5,759mg of sodium, averaging ~1,080mg/hr on the bike and ~390mg/hr on the run, and therefore the relative sodium concentration of his whole race intake was 808mg/L. This was a smart move and will have gone a long way to replacing his losses
- Leon didn’t experience any cramps during the race, but felt his hips tighten as he bent down to pick up a competitors running hat on course, and after safely returning it to him the twinges went away
- As a whole, Leon rated his fueling and hydration strategy a 10/10 and said he would only consider changing the timings of when he consumed some of his sodium and fluids
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Leon ensured his liver glycogen stores were topped up on race morning by eating his usual ~300g of banana bread
- In the 30 minutes prior to the race start, Leon had a caffeine gel (~100mg caffeine) which will have stimulated his central nervous system and increased the presence of adrenaline in his bloodstream, thus heightening his sense of alertness
- In some of his previous IM races, Leon has hit carb intakes in excess of ~110g/hr on the bike and ~90g/hr on the marathon, which is hugely impressive during such a long event
- For St. George, Leon planned to hit similar numbers by adding PF 90 Gels to his electrolyte drinks as he was keen to get his fuel and hydration from one source, whilst saving himself opening packets during the bike leg
- This strategy isn’t something we’d advise all athletes to follow. Some can find that they suffer GI distress from adding everything together. You also run the risk of losing both your hydration and fuel if you drop a bottle. However, Leon has practised this technique rigorously during training and he feels it’s a more efficient way to get his carb, sodium and fluid on board during races
- Leon crushed his fueling strategy by consuming ~718g of carb over the whole race, split into ~104g/hr on the bike and ~89g/hr on the run. This is an impressive quantity of carb to maintain across ~8 hours of racing, on what was a gruelling course in Utah
- He felt his energy levels did drop slightly between 2-3 hours on the bike, and felt he couldn’t push much power at all. In an attempt to combat this, he took a caffeine gel sooner than he planned, and within ~40 minutes he felt strong again, as he began the longest and steepest climb on the course, Snow Canyon
- Leon utilised what has become a staple part of his on-the-bike fueling - two Snickers bars. This small dose of ‘real food’ has really helped Leon in past races by providing a morale boost and they had the same effect during this race
- These high carb numbers and regular caffeine intake helped Leon maintain good energy levels throughout the race, and finish strongly. During Leon’s last IM race in Mallorca - a race he won, his energy levels began to dwindle in the final kilometres of the run, and was reduced at times to a walk on the marathon. Leon had no such worries this time as he crushed the final miles of the marathon to finish strongly, passing a number of competitors on the way
Conclusions
- Overall, Leon enjoyed a successful IM Worlds debut as he clocked the 6th fastest marathon of the day to secure a top-10 position
- Leon rated his race satisfaction as a 9 out of 10, saying “I had my best IRONMAN run to date, but you can always improve”
- Overall, Leon is pleased with how he performed at his first major IM championships and comes away knowing what he can work on to go even better at the 2022 Worlds in Hawaii later this year
Key info
Leon Chevalier
Male
Sweat sodium concentration
1392mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Very High
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
6th
Overall Time
8:01:41
Swim Time
0:52:02
Bike Time
4:20:18
Run Time
2:46:23
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN World Championships
Location
Utah, USA
Date
7th May, 2022
Website
Swim Distance
3.8km / 2.4mi
Bike Distance
180.2km / 112.0mi
Run Distance
42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Distance
226.2km / 140.6mi
Bike Elevation
2248m / 7,375ft
Run Elevation
431m / 1,414ft
Total Elevation
2679m / 8,789ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Very Hot
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
21°C / 70°F
Max Temp
35°C / 95°F
Avg Temp
29°C / 84°F
Humidity
12%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
9/10
Hydration rating
10/10
Great strategy, I wouldn't change a thing
Energy levels
8/10
Slight bonk on the bike but recovered ~40 minutes later. I crossed the line having emptied the tank
Toilet stops
No
Only in the swim warm-up, nothing during the race
GI comfort
8/10
Felt sick at times but these moments passed
Cramping
No cramping
Leon's Thoughts
The best run I've ever executed but 9/10 because you can always improve
Leon's full stats
| Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | |||||
| Total intake | 718 | 5,775 | 7,150 | 521 | 808 |
| Per hour | 90 | 720 | 892 | 65 | |
| Bike and Run | |||||
| Total intake | 696 | 5,759 | 7,150 | 446 | 805 |
| Per hour | 98 | 811 | 1,007 | 63 | |
| Bike | |||||
| Total intake | 450 | 4,679 | 4,450 | 150 | 1,052 |
| Per hour | 104 | 1,080 | 1,027 | 35 | |
| Run | |||||
| Total intake | 246 | 1,080 | 2,700 | 296 | 400 |
| Per hour | 89 | 390 | 976 | 107 | |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles, brands, quantities, flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).