• Neil is a member of the 2022 Zwift Triathlon Academy who will be racing the IM World Championships in Kona this October
• Having worked with the team at PF&H as an ambassador for a few years, Neil has dialled his hydration and fueling strategy and tested it in several races
• Challenge Roth saw a large number of athletes walking during the marathon as temperatures soared to ~32℃/ 90℉. Neil certainly found the day tough, but managed to stay relatively on top of his fueling and hydration and finished strong

Hydration

• Neil began his pre-race routine as he usually does by preloading with 500ml/16oz PH 1500 the night before and the morning of the race. This will have helped make sure he started optimally hydrated with his body ready to tackle the high temperatures that were expected
• During the bike leg, Neil drank ~3L/101oz PH 1500 Drink Mix and ~600ml/20oz of plain water, which gave him an average fluid intake of ~783ml/26oz per hour
• This fluid intake is fairly good considering the temperatures, however as Neil has done some sweat rate testing, in which he determined he lost ~1L/h (32oz/h) in conditions similar to Roth, he could perhaps increase his fluid intake to help limit his losses
• Neil’s sodium intake was strong on the bike as he averaged ~1,304mg/h, giving him a relative sodium concentration of ~1,667mg/L
• With a sweat sodium concentration of 1,492mg/L measured by our Sweat Test, despite the high temperatures, Neil will have replaced a large proportion of his losses through sweating during the 180k bike
• By the time he hit the marathon, the air temperatures were approaching 32℃/90℉, and he knew his hydration strategy needed to be ‘on point’ so he could continue to push hard and execute the solid run he’s capable of producing (for context, Neil ran a 1:11 half marathon in 2020)
• Neil picked up ~800ml/28oz of plain water on the run course, and had planned to take five Electrolyte Capsules but unfortunately misplaced them in T2, and could only take one
• Because of this, Neil had to be more proactive with getting sodium from other sources, and so picked up his ~500ml/16oz bottle containing PH 1500 (Drink Mix) and half a PH 1000 (tablet) from the special needs aid station
• In total, Neil drank ~2.1L/71oz of fluid on the run, averaging ~704ml/23oz per hour with a relative sodium concentration of ~602mg/L. Considering he misplaced his main source of sodium, he achieved a solid intake, using his years of experience to adapt well ‘on the fly’
• We would typically recommend a slightly higher concentration of sodium for someone with an above average sweat concentration like Neil, especially when racing in such high temperatures, but he still did a good job considering the circumstances
• Neil was tipping several cups of water over his head to keep himself cool, which proved effective as he ran his way to 3rd place in his age group, and 20th place overall amongst the professional athletes

Fueling

Conclusions

• Neil had suffered with some illness after his last IM race in Mallorca, and so was pleased with how his body has responded considering his limited training in recent weeks
• Rating his bike energy and hydration strategy 10/10, Neil said to improve his overall race satisfaction from an eight to a ten, he needs to work on both hitting a higher carb intake and remembering his Electrolyte Capsules on the run!
• Overall, Neil said “I’m able to take several positives from this race, and more importantly I know where I can improve further”, which puts him in a good position as he builds his training up towards Kona this October