Madison Clarke
IRONMAN® Wales
TenbyCompleted, F25-29Madison's headline numbers
Madison'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 didn’t have any major lows in my energy levels. The only time I struggled was the third and fourth laps of the run where my legs were cooked. I kept overtaking and being overtaken by a good friend of mine, which was a good distraction."
This was Maddy’s *first ever triathlon*, after her first marathon earlier in 2024 at the London Marathon. She was initially a bit overwhelmed seeing what top level athletes consume during IRONMAN® races, but wasn’t planning to push her body’s limits for this initial foray into triathlon, instead simply hoping to complete the distance within the 17 hour time limit. By eating *something* in all of her training sessions, her body got used to metabolising carbohydrates during exercise when blood is shunted away from the gut in favour of working muscles. As a result, she tolerated carbs well on race day without any significant GI distress. Whilst her average intake was almost spot on the Fuel & Hydration Planner’s recommendations, the distribution was much higher during the bike (~80g/h) compared to ~45g/h during the run. This drop off is typical in what we observe across our entire Case Study database, but Maddy may find it more comfortable to slightly reduce her intake on the bike, as she really struggled in the final couple of hours of the run to eat anything. She didn’t consume any real foods during this ~16 hour race, and thankfully didn’t experience any flavour fatigue from the large amount of sports nutrition she took on board. This supports the emerging anecdotal evidence that, when practised appropriately *and* sufficiently, athletes of all abilities don’t *need* to rely on real foods to complete long endurance events, though some may still find it a welcome palette refresher to do so.
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.
T - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I was craving salty foods so bad. I normally don’t drink a lot but this time I was drinking loads. I had no issues with dehydration at all, and no cramps."
Interestingly, Maddy had a recurring craving for salt throughout the run. This usually means one of two things; she drank too much plain water, or she wasn’t getting enough sodium. Either way, the brain’s response is to signal the taste buds and make salty things taste *really* good, in order to balance the concentration of sodium and water in the blood. Maddy hasn’t had a Sweat Test to help individualise her sodium intake, but she has reported large salt marks on her kit after long, hot training sessions, and frequently leans towards the salty crisps and nuts upon finishing those sessions. Considering these signs, it’s likely her electrolyte requirements are higher than average, so perhaps listening to her body and taking a higher relative sodium concentration during the run could help alleviate the symptoms she experienced and support a stronger race performance.
How Madison hit her numbers
Here's everything that Madison ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“I wish the race was dry, but the mental challenge was insane and loads of people didn’t finish. There were 2,500 people on the start list, and only 1600 finished, and I’m really proud to be one of them.”
“Maddy’s first IRONMAN® was an excellent example of how to execute a well-rehearsed fuel & hydration strategy, all whilst finishing with a smile on her face. She encountered a few common hiccups during the race with her plan, including over-fueling slightly on the bike, and then under-drinking in the latter stages. If she decides to complete another IRONMAN® in the future, she may want to get her sweat tested to ensure her electrolyte strategy is dialled in, and possibly reduce the amount of solid foods consumed on the bike to limit GI distress.”
PF&HMadison'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 some confidence in the quantities and brands of products consumed but the data may lack specifics (e.g. volumes specific flavours). A high number of estimations have been made and the room for error is moderate-high. There may also be the possibility that some intake has been grossly over- or under-estimated.