Will Crudgington's scorecard
Challenge Roth
Sunday 25th June, 2023
Within recommended ranges
Just outside recommended ranges
Significantly outside recommended ranges
- 94gCarb per hour
- 442mgSodium per hour
- 965mlFluid per hour
- 458mg/LRelative sodium concentration
- 8.28mg/kgCaffeine per bodyweight
How Will hit those numbers
Before race (>30mins)
750ml x PH 1500
2 x PF 30 Chews
2 x Cups of Black Coffee
4 x Brioche rolls
750ml x Energy Drink Mix (80g carb)
Pre-race (<30mins)
1 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
Race - Swim
*** Try to avoid drinking too much at this point in the race!
Race - Bike
1L x PH 1000 (Tablets)
10 x PH Electrolyte Capsule
3 x PF 30 Gel
3 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
2 x PF 30 Chews
3L x Plain water
2.4L x Energy drink mix (80g carb)
Race - Run
3 x PF 30 Gel
2 x PF 30 Caffeine Gel
2.25L x Plain water
- Will, who juggles training with as a triathlete with his full time job as an engineer for sweat-sensor start up FLOWBIO, took part in his first race in a professional field at Challenge Roth
- Having never raced a full distance triathlon before, Will was satisfied with a finishing time at Challenge Roth of 7:57:40, which broke the British record for fastest debut over this distance
Hydration
- Will wanted to arrive on the startline of this warm Bavarian race with the best possible capacity to regulate his temperature. To do this he had one serving of PH 1500 the night before the race, and another to sip on in the morning
- Will forgot to include his Electrolyte Capsules in the top tube storage of his bike, but Will’s coach (and Global Triathlon Network presenter) Mark Threllfall managed to access transition and add the ten capsules to Will's bike while he was still in the water
- Luckily he did do this, as Will got most of his hydration on the bike from four 750ml (24oz) water bottles gathered from aid stations, and some energy drink mix which contained no electrolytes
- Will averaged an intake of ~1.3L (46oz) fluid per hour while riding, with a relative sodium concentration of ~647mg/L (mg/32oz)
- On the run, Will again relied on aid stations for his hydration, but made sure to avoid the isotonic drink available because of bad prior experiences using un-trialled products on race day
- This resulted in an average intake of ~800ml (25oz) per hour while running, which would have replaced a good proportion of Will’s fluid losses from his sweat
- Will didn’t take any electrolytes during his 2:48:54 marathon, and experienced some cramp-like twinges between 15km (9.3 miles) and 18km (11.2 miles), which may well have been related to diminished blood sodium levels
- In future, Will could carry some additional Electrolyte Capsules our products, or even a Soft Flask containing PF 60 Drink Mix out of transition two to maintain an appropriate relative sodium concentration
Fueling
Quick Carb Calculator Recommendation
30gcarb 30 mins before
60-90gcarb per hour during
- Having experienced some stomach issues in the build up to Staffordshire 70.3 just two weeks prior to this race, Will took no risks in his fueling approach. From a carb loading perspective, this meant Will only ate chicken and lots of rice for three days up to Challenge Roth, topped off with brioche rolls for breakfast on race-day
- Will had been slightly adjusting his immediate pre-race fueling for the 18 months before this race, and was happy that he responds well to a full bottle of energy drink mix (80g carb) and two PF 30 Chews when he gets down to transition in the morning, followed by a final PF 30 Caffeine Gel just 15 minutes before swim start
- This huge amount of carbohydrate right before the start tops off the glycogen that his body can store in the liver, and boosts his blood glucose to spare stored energy for later in the race
- When out of the water and onto the bike, Will mainly got his carbohydrate from the same energy drink mix he had pre-race (80g carb per serving), alongside caffeinated and non-caffeinated PF 30 Gels and some PF 30 Chews for a different texture
- Will was mindful of the importance of fueling this race after previous challenge Roth Champion, James Cunama, gave him the following advice: “if you feel bad, just keep eating. And if you feel good, still keep eating…”.
- To ensure he stuck to this strategy, Will set up his bike computer to alert him every 10 minutes when he would eat or drink
- Will’s average carb intake then dropped from an impressive ~133g per hour on the bike, to just ~54g/h when running. And despite feeling a significant energy dip in the final 8km, he didn’t take the last PF 30 Gel in his race belt, for “some unknown reason” which often arises with >200km worth of fatigue in an athlete’s brain and body
- In future, Will could look at setting a similar reminder on his watch while running the marathon to the one on his bike computer while cycling, to ensure he fuels according to his plan, even if he doesn’t particularly feel like it at the time
Conclusions
- Will couldn’t have been more satisfied with his impressive debut long distance triathlon outing at the 2023 edition of Challenge Roth, where he finished in less than eight hours and broke the British long course debut record in the process
- He fueled incredibly well on the bike after some wise advice from a former Roth champion, but could have done with a little more in the tank during the final kilometres of the run
- Will replaced a good proportion of his sweat losses via the fluid he drank, and owes a big thanks to his coach for adding electrolyte capsules to his toptube while he was swimming
- In future, Will is looking forward to incorporating some gut training into his race preparation to help reduce the drop in carbohydrate from bike to run, and help his perceived energy in the final stages of the race
Key info
Will Crudgington
Male72.5kg
Sweat sodium concentration798mg/L
Sweat sodium classificationLow
* determined by our Sweat Test
Result
Position13th
Overall Time7:57:40
Swim Time0:49:54
Bike Time4:15:50
Run Time2:48:54
Event information
SportTriathlon
DisciplineFull distance
EventChallenge Roth
LocationRoth bei Nürnberg, Germany
Date25th June, 2023
Swim Distance3.8km / 2.4mi
Bike Distance180.2km / 112.0mi
Run Distance42.2km / 26.2mi
Total Distance226.2km / 140.6mi
Bike Elevation1,567m / 5,141ft
Run Elevation167m / 548ft
Race conditions
Weather ConditionsHot
PrecipitationNo Rain
Min Temp15°C / 59°F
Max Temp29°C / 84°F
Avg Temp25°C / 77°F
Humidity40%
Athlete feedback
Race Satisfaction10/10
Hydration rating7/10I could be more prepared in future so I don't have to rely on aid stations which can be frustrating
Energy levels8/10I could have done with an extra gel towards the end of the run, funnnily I found a spare one in my race belt at the finish line..
Toilet stopsYesI peed a couple of times on the bike and once on the run, managed to keep moving though!
GI comfort9/10A bit of stomach sloshing by the end but all felt fine
CrampingTwinges but not full-on cramps
Will's Thoughts
Happy with my first long distance race and how I held it together. I think naivety can go a long way when it comes the full distance...
Data Confidence
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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.