1st
Martin Gannon's scorecard
IRONMAN World Championships
Thursday 6th October, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
66g
Carb per hour
535mg
Sodium per hour
1,041ml
Fluid per hour
514mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
4.44mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Martin hit those numbers
How Martin's hydration and fueling went...
- Retired doctor, Martin, has qualified for the IRONMAN World Championships eight times since starting triathlon in 2005. Now racing in the 65-69 age group, Martin was looking to carry forward his form from a dominant win at the 2021 IRONMAN World Championships in Utah where he won by over an hour
- Martin has worked with the PF&H Sports Science team for a couple of years prior to this race, honing his strategy to where it is today. Happily, this meant that on the day he perceived both his energy levels and hydration as a 10 (out of 10)
- Impressively, Martin produced a time of 10:55:21 in Kona, clearly an example of someone who’s slowed the decline in performance associated with age. This time meant he beat the next best in his age group by a margin of 45 minutes!
Hydration
- Martin preloaded like he usually does with PH 1500 (Tablets) both the night before and the morning of the race, to ensure that he topped up his blood plasma volume and would start the race optimally hydrated
- After emerging in 8th position from the swim, Martin hopped on the bike which was stocked with his pre-mixed bottles of carbohydrate drink mix with additional PH 1500 (Drink Mix). He also utilised aid stations by picking up ~6.2L (218oz) of water
- This meant that he had an average intake of ~1.44L (50oz) of fluid per hour on the bike, which is at the upper limit of what we see athletes being able to tolerate. However, on this occasion it was appropriate for Martin given the extreme heat and humidity which would have been reflected in his fluid losses through sweating
- Martin knows that he has a low sweat sodium concentration of 695mg/L after taking a Precision Fuel & Hydration Sweat Test. This means that he generally wouldn’t require as much sodium during his races as many other athletes. During this race, he maintained an appropriate relative sodium concentration on the bike of ~529mg/L (mg/32oz) with the aid of some Electrolyte Capsules
- While on the run course, Martin relied on supplies from the 16 aid stations. He estimated that he picked up ~3.5L (123oz) of fluid in total, bringing his average intake for the race to ~1.04L (32oz) fluid per hour with a relative sodium concentration of ~514mg/L (mg/32oz)
- This is in line with our analysis of Martin’s hydration at the IRONMAN World Championships in St George, with a ~6% increase in fluid during this race to combat his elevated sweat rate, in part due to the higher humidity in Kona
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Martin carb loaded ahead of the race, culminating in carb rich meals both the night before and the morning of the race, to ensure he had fully topped up glycogen stores to provide him with energy on race day
- He also had a final PF 30 Caffeine Gel around 10 minutes before the race to top up his blood glucose, which can have a sparing effect on his glycogen stores - saving some energy for later in the race
- On the bike, Martin got most of his carb from energy drink mixes and 10 water soluble PF 30 Gels mixed in his down tube bottle
- This gave him an average intake of ~90g/h of carb while riding, which is bang on the recommendation our Fuel & Hydration Planner gave for an event of this intensity and duration
- Eating more carb while on the bike will have ‘frontloaded’ Martin’s energy intake somewhat, meaning that on the run he felt he could comfortably drop down to ~50g/h in the form of gels and energy drinks from aid stations, without having any reduction in his perceived energy levels
- Overall, Martin had ~15% less carbohydrate than his previous World Championship appearance in Utah, but was still happy to have an overall energy rating of 10 (out of 10) on the day
- Martin also utilised caffeine well throughout the day with strategically timed PF 30 Caffeine Gels, with a total intake of ~320mg (4.44mg/kg). This is right in the middle of the general recommendations of 3-6mg per kg of bodyweight to benefit from caffeine as a performance aid
Conclusions
- Adding yet another IRONMAN World Championship title to his name, Martin said his second age-group victory in Kona was “very special”. He added that winning by a 45-minute margin was “the icing on the cake”, rating his race satisfaction 100 (out of 10!)
- Martin has already got his sights on his next race to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships, carrying his solid fuel and hydration plan across to shorter distance racing
Key info
Martin Gannon
Male
72kg
Sweat sodium concentration
695mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Low
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
1st
Overall Time
10:55:21
Swim Time
1:18:45
Bike Time
5:24:06
Run Time
4:02:18
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Full distance
Event
IRONMAN World Championships
Location
Kona, Hawaii
Date
6th October, 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
1,772m / 5,814ft
Run Elevation
307m / 1,007ft
Total Elevation
2,079m / 6,821ft
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Very Hot and Humid
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
24°C / 75°F
Max Temp
29°C / 84°F
Avg Temp
27°C / 81°F
Humidity
73%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
10/10
Hydration rating
10/10
Perfect for me!
Toilet stops
Yes
GI comfort
10/10
Cramping
No cramping
Martin's Thoughts
Successfully defending a world title is very special, but to do it with a winning margin of 45 minutes in Kona is the icing on the cake!
Martin's full stats
Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||||
Total intake | 716 | 5,840 | 11,365 | 320 | 514 |
Per hour | 66 | 535 | 1,041 | 29 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 686 | 5,840 | 11,365 | 220 | 514 |
Per hour | 73 | 619 | 1,205 | 23 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 485 | 4,124 | 7,800 | 200 | 529 |
Per hour | 90 | 764 | 1,444 | 37 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 201 | 1,716 | 3,565 | 20 | 481 |
Per hour | 50 | 425 | 884 | 5 |
Data Confidence
1
2
3
4
5
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.