Martin Gannon
IRONMAN® World Championships
Kailua-Kona1st, M65-69Martin's headline numbers
Martin's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"My fueling plan served me well and I had lots of energy all day."
On the bike, Martin fueled primarily through a bottle of energy drink mix and 10 PF 30 Gels, all mixed into his downtube bottle. This strategy provided him with an average intake of ~90g of carb per hour, perfectly aligning with the scientific recommendations. By consuming more carb on the bike compared to the run, Martin effectively ‘front-loaded’ his fuel intake on the bike, allowing him to reduce his carb consumption by 44% to ~50g per hour during the run. Overall, through the use of gels and energy drinks at aid stations, Martin's carb intake was ~15% lower than at his previous IRONMAN® World Championship in Utah, but he still rated his energy levels highly and had no noticeable dips in performance.
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.
Martin695mg/L
Martin has been Sweat Tested to dial in his 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 Martin's losses are on the low side, getting his hydration strategy right is still crucial when it's hot and/or humid as his 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
"Perfect for me!"
After emerging in 8th position from the swim, Martin hopped on the bike which was stocked with his pre-mixed bottles of PH 1500 (Drink Mix). He also picked up ~6L of water from aid stations on the bike course, which was necessary due to the extreme heat and humidity that significantly increased his sweat losses. With a fairly low sweat sodium concentration, Martin didn’t require as much sodium as other athletes. He sustained an appropriate sodium intake on the bike and run, with the aid of Electrolyte Capsules. In the greater humidity of Kona, he consumed ~6% more fluid compared to the IRONMAN® World Championships in St. George earlier in 2022 - 1.04L/h compared to 982ml/h.
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.
Consuming caffeine in the hours before the start may have increased perceived energy levels
Martin utilised caffeine well throughout the day with strategically timed PF 30 Caffeine Gels, meaning his total intake sat right in the middle of the scientific recommendations of 3-6mg per kg of bodyweight to benefit from caffeine’s performance enhancing capabilities.
How Martin hit his numbers
Here's everything that Martin ate and drank on the day...
Final 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!”
“At the 8th IRONMAN® World Champs he’s qualified for, Martin had another impressive victory! This goes to show his incredible fitness and ability to slow the decline in performance associated with age. He's already focused on qualifying for the IRONMAN® 70.3 World Championships, ready to apply his winning fuel and hydration strategy to shorter races. ”
PF&HMartin'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.