Triathlon coach and nine-time national champion and past winner of the London Triathlon, Richard Allen, is conscious of how important proper hydration and energy replacement is in triathlon whether your goal is winning the event or just ensuring you finish with a smile on your face. Below are some practical and helpful tips from Richard on how to ensure you keep yourself hydrated and energised on race day.

Keeping hydrated and energised are vitally important for triathlon success. When you train or race, and are exerting yourself, you sweat out the body’s fluids and these are essential for keeping the body’s temperature at a correct level and a lack of fluids will result in the body overheating unduly quickly and performance being impaired. Additionally, as you exert yourself you suffer the further physical effect of reducing blood sugar and nutrient levels in the body which in turns lowers energy reserves making you tired an affect which can make you more prone to injury. In order to avoid these effects it is essential that you replace the fluids and nutrients you lose during training and competition, this is best done with a specialist fluid replacement or sports drink.

Richard’s top tips

• Try the fluid replacement drink you will use in the race several weeks before the event to make sure you are comfortable drinking it and like it. Some drinks can upset your stomach. Try different flavours too. Changing your drink at the last minute can spell disaster.
• Make sure you get the concentration right, as too weak a sports drink will not have the desired effect and too strong a concentration can cause stomach cramping. Too many carbohydrates in a drink may cause the stomach to shut down or draw all the blood to the stomach away from your working muscles. If you buy a drink that is mixed already don’t dilute it because it will not function in the way it is designed to.
• Make sure that you choose a drink that has the right balance of sodium, potassium and some carbohydrate. Some sports drinks do not contain enough electrolytes for tough exercise. As an example, years of scientific research on top athletes have helped Gatorade produce the perfect balance.
• Decide well in advance of the race how much fluid you will take on board to stay hydrated before and during the race. This plan can be put into practice in training and before training. If you want to work out exactly how much fluid to consume, consult a sports nutritionist who will be able to work it out exactly or use the hydration calculator on www.gatorade.co.uk
• To make sure you drink during the race, consider setting an alarm on your watch to sound every 10 minutes. This will prompt you to take sips. Drink little and often, not large amounts in one go. Practice this alarm setting in your training sessions.
• During the week before the race it is vital to stay well hydrated. It will help to carry a drinks bottle everywhere you go and remember to take little sips often.
• Do not consume too much fluid the night before the race and the morning of the race. Over hydrating yourself is potentially worse than being dehydrated. Having already consistently hydrated yourself during the week you will be ready. Just a 500ml bottle consumed over the course of the morning should be fine. Again, to get it spot on, consult a sports nutritionist.
• On the bike carry two bottles, even if you don't think you will use them. History shows that it can be very hot on race day and you may drop a bottle and need that second one.
• On the run consider carrying a small run bottle, particularly if it is a hot day. This will be back up should you miss an aid station, or if you are drinking on your alarm sounding it will make sure you have a drink to hand.
• When running through aid stations, don't just throw the liquid over your head. Run with the cup or bottle for a while and consume a few sips. When you have finished your intended amount, you can then cool off.
• If you are handed a cup at an aid station, to make sure the fluid stays in the cup, pinch the top sides of the cup together so there is only a small opening. This will stop the fluid just jumping out while you are running.
• Have a drinks bottle in transition just in case you need extra. You can take a sip after the swim and bike before you start the next event.
• When you cross the finish line, make sure you keep hydrating yourself for the remainder of the day. This will aid recovery. It is easy to switch off after the race and forget to drink.



The Gatorade UK website is an excellent resource for triathletes in the UK, not only does it provide an interactive hydration strategy, sweat loss calculator and video deep tour of the body the site also has a useful postcode finder so athletes can locate the nearest Gatorade stockist.