• Sarah had a dominant race at IM Cairns, making a break from the pack out of T1, to hold off her competitors all the way to the finish line and take another win just five weeks after winning IM Australia
• Sarah stuck to her tried and tested hydration and fueling strategy for this race, executing a similar plan to previous IM races, but increasing her fluid intake on the bike to account for the warmer conditions

Hydration

• Knowing that the conditions were going to be warm, Sarah made sure that she preloaded by drinking ~600ml/19oz of PH 1500 ahead of the race, ensuring she started well-hydrated
• On the bike, Sarah carried with her ~1.5L/48oz of a carb-rich energy drink and ~500ml/16oz of a protein drink mix. In addition to this, she picked up an additional ~1.5L/48oz of the on-course mix and ~500ml/16oz plain water. This averaged an intake of ~883ml/30oz per hour on the bike course, which is ~100ml/3oz greater (per hour) than we saw her drink at Port Macquire a few weeks prior
• Due to the warmer temperature (~26℃/80°F) Sarah’s sweat rate and therefore, net fluid losses were greater. It was fantastic to see Sarah adjust her fluid intake in response to this
• On the run, we are used to seeing Sarah pick up a selection of the available on-course fluids, and this race was no exception. Sarah opted for a mixture of plain water (~1L/32oz), carb drink mix (~400ml/13oz) and Coca Cola (~300ml/10oz)
• In total, Sarah drank ~5.9L/200oz of fluid, averaging an intake of ~661ml/hr (~20oz/hr). For the warm conditions and from what we’ve seen Sarah drink previously, this is a sensible overall fluid intake which should have prevented her from incurring a significant fluid deficit
• Sarah consumed an average of ~269mg of sodium per hour across the race, equaling a relative sodium concentration of ~407mg/L when we account for her average fluid intake. Sarah has a low sweat sodium concentration and as a result, doesn’t require a great intake of sodium when racing. Importantly, Sarah made sure she started well hydrated before the event, and then did an adequate job at staying on top of her losses by drip feeding her system with fluids and sports products which contain small amounts of sodium throughout the race. Should Sarah race in much hotter, or more humid conditions, then she should consider replacing a greater proportion of electrolytes in a more strategic way

Fueling

Conclusions

• Sarah continued to show her great form by taking the win at IM Cairns, crossing the finish line with a comfortable five and a half minute lead
• She executed a similar fueling and hydration strategy, increasing her fluid intake on the bike to account for the higher temperatures, but ultimately hitting similar overall numbers to previous races