3rd
Matthew Marquardt's scorecard
IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships
Friday 28th October, 2022
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
126g
Carb per hour
672mg
Sodium per hour
972ml
Fluid per hour
692mg/L
Relative sodium concentration
4.10mg/kg
Caffeine per bodyweight
How Matthew hit those numbers
How Matthew's hydration and fueling went...
- Less than three weeks after securing 1st in his age group at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Matthew was looking to replicate his performance at the IM 70.3 World Championships in St. George, Utah
- After experiencing a “bag mix up” and bike gear issue in transition one, Matthew said he was “playing catch up” from early on in the race
- Matthew was able to secure a respectable 3rd place, despite multiple setbacks. His solid fuel and hydration plan, which he executed as closely as possible despite the cold conditions, would have contributed to this strong performance on the day
Hydration
- We would have liked to see Matthew preload with a strong electrolyte drink like PH 1500 to ensure he started the race optimally hydrated. But on this occasion he relied on electrolyte intake through his food, sports drink and lactose free milk on the morning of the race
- Matthew planned to follow a similar hydration strategy to his performance in Kona during this event, which was ~22°C / 72°F colder on average. The difference in environmental conditions was reflected by a reduced sweat rate, meaning he could drop his average fluid intake by ~16%, from ~1.16L (39oz) per hour in Hawaii to ~972ml (31oz) per hour in Utah without experiencing any hydration related issues
- While on the bike, Matthew used a range of energy drinks to meet his fluid and energy needs, averaging ~1.05L (33oz) per hour. Then, on the run all of his fluid came from aid station water, energy drink and Coca Cola collections giving an average of ~846ml/h (28oz/h)
- This fluid intake was relatively high when compared to other athletes racing in St George in extremely cold conditions (~ 7℃ / 45°F average), like pro female and PF&H ambassador, Emma Pallant-Browne who drank just ~288ml/h (9oz/h) when racing the day before
- Matthew explained his mindset behind this by saying “no matter the weather, cold or hot, my top priority was to execute my race strategy. It can be really difficult to eat and drink when it is so cold and your hands barely work, but I know from experience in training and racing that getting in enough fluid and fuel is crucial to perform. Even though it was at times unpleasant to eat or drink, I knew that it was required for success and that losing as a result of not following the race plan would hurt even more”
- Across the race, largely through the use of salt capsules, Matthew was able to maintain a relative sodium concentration of ~672mg/L (mg/32oz). This value is certainly close to his own sweat sodium concentration of 655mg/L (mg/32oz) as determined by a Sweat Test, and would have replaced a good proportion of his losses across the race
- Matthew did experience some cramping when transitioning from the bike to run, but it’s unlikely to be due to hydration on this occasion because of his appropriate intake. It’s more likely to have occurred due to one of the many other factors, such as accumulated muscle fatigue, which are thought to cause cramps
- With strong physical performances both on the bike and the run, Matthew was able to rate his hydration strategy 8 (out of 10)
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30g
carb 30 mins before
60-90g
carb per hour during
- Matthew approached this race with a very similar strategy to the one he used in Kona, with the same high carb breakfast the morning of the event. He was then able to top off his blood glucose with an energy drink mix and energy gel within the last half an hour, sparing some stored energy for utilisation later in the race
- With a varied intake of both ‘slow release’ starch and rapidly absorbed glucose:fructose carb sources, Matthew was able to average an impressive ~126g carb per hour of the race, peaking at ~145g/h on the bike, before dropping down to ~110g/h while running
- Matthew was able to tolerate a very similar intake to this (120g/h) in the extreme conditions of Kona with no GI distress whatsoever. This is a prime example of an athlete benefiting from gut training to allow for higher carb intakes
- As a Supersapeins ambassador, Matthew is able to access in-depth information regarding his glucose levels during the event. On this occasion his his glucose trace highlighted how much energy he had available to him throughout the race, as he was well and truly in the ‘performance zone’
- Matthew was also able to sensibly utilise the ergogenic benefits associated with caffeine, through the use of caffeine gels, periodically spaced out in his strategy. This allowed him to achieve ~4.1mg per kilo of bodyweight, which is within the general scientific recommendation of 3-6 mg/kg
Conclusions
- Despite riding his way back to the front of the race after his T1 mishaps, it wasn’t long until Matthew lost his chain and experienced frustrating delays yet again. In the end he only finished 45 seconds behind 1st place, meaning on another day he may have been crowned a double age group World Champion within just three weeks
- Overall, Matthew did really well from both a fueling and hydration point of view, with appropriate sodium intake relative to his individual needs. In the future we’d like to see how his perceived hydration levels might change after preloading with electrolytes
- Going forward, Matthew has the opportunity to work with the PF&H Sports Science team and optimise his strategy further with some time to experiment in the off season. Overall, he’s satisfied with what he’s been able to achieve this season and “can’t wait to race again in 2023”
Key info
Matthew Marquardt
Male
77kg
Sweat sodium concentration
655mg/L
Sweat sodium classification
Low
* determined by a PH Advanced Sweat Test
Result
Position
3rd
Overall Time
4:01:59
Swim Time
0:23:53
Bike Time
2:12:54
Run Time
1:18:27
Event information
Sport
Triathlon
Discipline
Middle distance
Event
IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships
Location
St George, USA
Date
28th October, 2022
Website
Swim Distance
1.9km / 1.2mi
Bike Distance
90.1km / 56.0mi
Run Distance
21.1km / 13.1mi
Total Distance
113.1km / 70.3mi
Race conditions
Weather Conditions
Cold
Precipitation
No Rain
Min Temp
2°C / 36°F
Max Temp
11°C / 52°F
Avg Temp
7°C / 45°F
Humidity
40%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction
4/10
Hydration rating
8/10
Energy levels
8/10
I had a low point during the back half of the swim but felt good on the bike and run
GI comfort
10/10
No GI Distress of any kind
Cramping
Twinges but not full-on cramps
Matthew's Thoughts
It’s always frustrating when a performance is negatively impacted by factors other than the body’s ability to perform, but unfortunately the things that happened to me do happen, and it’s a learning experience to make sure it never happens again.
Matthew's full stats
Carbohydrate (g) | Sodium (mg) | Fluid (ml) | Caffeine (mg) | Relative sodium concentration (mg/L) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Overall | |||||
Total intake | 507 | 2,701 | 3,903 | 316 | 692 |
Per hour | 126 | 672 | 972 | 79 | |
Bike and Run | |||||
Total intake | 461 | 2,511 | 3,403 | 316 | 738 |
Per hour | 132 | 717 | 972 | 90 | |
Bike | |||||
Total intake | 319 | 1,913 | 2,303 | 100 | 831 |
Per hour | 145 | 869 | 1,047 | 45 | |
Run | |||||
Total intake | 143 | 598 | 1,100 | 216 | 544 |
Per hour | 110 | 460 | 846 | 166 |
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.