Max Stapley
Singapore T100
Marina Bay13th, MPROMax's headline numbers
Max's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
Max would benefit from taking in a final dose of carb <30 minutes before
"I had no issues getting the carbs down - I wasn’t feeling full at all. On the bike, I executed the plan pretty well. But I just struggled on the run, and despite taking on a lot of carbs, it just never felt like enough."
After discussing his fueling plan with the Precision Fuel & Hydration Sports Science Team in the build up to the race, Max agreed that ‘decoupling’ his fuel and hydration would be most beneficial given the hot and humid conditions in Singapore. He exclusively relied on PF 300 Flow Gel for his fuel on the bike, with the plan to take three PF 30 Gels in a soft flask to see him through the run. On the day, Max ended up consuming *all* of his gels within the first 6 to 7km of the run as he was feeling low on energy. Subsequently, he had to rely on the on-course gels and cola for additional carbs. As a result, his carb intake for the bike and run totaled a whopping ~150g/h - much higher than we typically observe for triathletes, although it’s not uncommon for cyclists to be consuming such high quantities while racing. After the race, Max acknowledged that he probably rode a little harder than planned because he felt he was giving up some speed with poorer aerodynamics relative to his competition. This likely meant he was burning carbs at a higher rate than expected, and probably contributed to the lack of energy on the run.
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.
Max1228mg/L
Max 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.
Given Max's losses are High (1,228mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it's hot and/or humid.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"Obviously the heat played a big factor, but I felt like I consumed enough fluid on the bike. The main issue was trying to cool down. I was using water on both the bike and the run to do this, but it didn’t feel like it was helping me."
We typically advise athletes to preload with sodium using PH 1500 before the race, especially when racing in hot conditions. However, Max routinely uses sodium bicarbonate before a race for the ergogenic benefits it can provide, and therefore when consumed in combination with water, he would also be getting the pre-hydration benefits given the high quantity of sodium it delivers. During the race, he drank two 750ml bottles containing PH 1500 (Tablets) on the bike and picked up additional water at a couple of aid stations. He also took advantage of the pro aid stations, grabbing 3 bottles (1 per lap) with ~330ml of PH 1500 to ensure he was consuming sufficient sodium alongside the fluid. Inevitably, he picked up water at other aid stations, drinking some and using the others to douse himself in an attempt to cool down. Overall, Max’s fluid intake was ~1.5L/h for the run - an impressive volume to consume, but necessitated by the conditions in Singapore.
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
Max didn’t *intentionally* include caffeine as part of his strategy for the race, although he did consume a small amount of caffeine when ingesting cola on the run. It should certainly be strategically incorporated into his future race strategies though, especially since he regularly consumes coffee, and will therefore likely tolerate caffeine when racing. As well as a pre-race espresso, including caffeine pre- and within-race via a couple of PF 30 Caffeine Gels would easily bring his caffeine consumption in line with the range (3 to 6 mg/kg) to reap the ergogenic benefits associated with the supplement.
How Max hit his numbers
Here's everything that Max ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“It was such a brutal race, especially for the start of the season! I’m a bit disappointed, mainly because I don’t think I was able to show 100% of what I could’ve produced on the day. But it also really highlighted to me how important it is to have good aerodynamics on the bike when you step up to middle distance racing, and this will be something to work on for future races.”
“The heat and humidity of Singapore makes this one of the toughest races on the T100 calendar, and debuting at this event is far from easy. There were a lot of positives for Max to take from the race; his high rate of carb intake occurred without issue from a GI perspective and we’re hopeful that this will translate well in future races. We hope to see Max on another T100 start line later in the season.”
PF&HMax'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.