Hi,
I took a “business trip” to Kona to check out IRONMAN this week. It was a great experience, and I picked up a few things with new fueling strategies and products being used that you can apply to your training.
Fueling Trends
High-carb fueling is bigger than ever. Many athletes pushed hard to keep pace with last year’s champ, Sam Laidlow, who eventually hit a wall on the run. But those who stuck to their fueling plans—like Magnus Ditlev and Cam Wurf—held strong, finishing 2nd and 7th, respectively.
Both shared that they meticulously tracked their carbs per hour, relying on gels for carbs and using their hydration solely for electrolyte replenishment.
They were fueling at 100g-140g per hour. While this is notably high, both athletes have been slowly training their guts to handle this amount of carbs during their training blocks. This is something you can work on as well in your off-season training.
Magnus relied primarily on Maurten Gels (33% off), while Cam mixed it up with various products to avoid flavor fatigue, including:
When it came to hydration, Mortal Hydration (33% off) was the top choice (and the official course hydration), with others used Precision in self-supported setups.
I also spotted athletes chewing Salt Stick Chews electrolyte tablets to continue boosting sodium levels and combat the dramatic sweat loss.
Plaismaide used by the Norwegians
Christian Blumenfeld and Gustav Eden swear on Plaismaide’s adaptogenic power to increase blood flow and help reduce that burn in your muscles. So when you are hurting - this should help you hurt less.
I also heard they are using it for air travel to increase the O2 saturation while flying. Definitely something I’m going to try on my next long flight.
Beating the heat was the major focus of the athletes that performed well
The Omius cooling headband was all over Kona again. The Omius team shared that demand is taking off in triathlon and now marathon running after many marathoners utilized this headband during the Paris Olympics.
CORE Body Temperature sensors were worn on heart rate straps. Athletes use these to monitor their core temperature and adjust their efforts to avoid overheating.
I was surprised by how many athletes were using them. These would be great to start to use when you are doing indoor training this winter.
Lastly, cooling products like ice hats and cooling bandanas were everywhere! Inspired by Magnus’s success with his “ice hat,” we’ll be rolling out more of these cooling items for 2025—stay tuned!
To Celebrate IRONMAN, Grab These Deals:
Cheers,
Matt
Founder
The Feed
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