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Blog: Why is the Kona IronMan World Champs so hard for the pros?

Hawaii is the birth place of the IronMan triathlon where in 1978 Judy and John Collins challenged individuals to swim bike and run 140.6 miles and joked they would call the winner an “Iron man”. The event now sees 1000s of athletes test themselves in IronMan races all over the globe, including myself. But Kona, home to the Ironman World Championships which begins today (6th October 2022), holds something special for all triathletes. The history of the race is full of epic tails of survival (see the story of Julie Moss or Sian Welsh & Wendy Ingraham) and infamous battles such as the Iron War (between Dave Scott and Mark Allen). The weather is generally consistent and therefore predictable in Kona in October: sunny, windy and humid. However, while the air temperatures are generally around 30 oC which are not necessarily remarkable, it is the humidity “swamp-like” conditions that really challenge athlete’s thermoregulatory capacity when competing in the Ironman World Championships.

So why is Kona so hard? Read more here ……..

Written by Owen Jeffries

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Consultancy: Heat acclimation for Marathon Des Sables

We offer consultancy services to facilitate athletes to prepare for extreme climates including extremes in heat, cold and altitude. We recently worked with an athlete preparing for the Marathon Des Sables, called the toughest footrace on earth. MDS is an event that takes place each year in the Sahara Dessert where temperatures can reach up to 50 oC. Carried out over 6 days athletes must complete +250 kms, a massive challenge in some of the most extreme environmental conditions on earth, so much so that in 2021 during extreme heat less than half the 753 athletes that started the race finished and sadly one athlete died.

Athlete exercising in 40 oC 40% humidity, with internal core temperature hitting 39.5 oC in preparation for the MDS event.

If you are interested in consultancy in extreme environments contact: Dr Owen Jeffries [owen.jeffries@newcastle.ac.uk]

You can find the full range of services we offer at this link: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/sport/sport-and-fitness/hub/testing/

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Media: Sports scientist who ran Ironman race in 95F shares 5 tips for exercising in extreme temperatures

Dr Owen Jeffries spoke with a reporter from insider.com online news outlet following his recent Ironman triathlon competition in Austria which occurred during the European heat wave with temperatures reportedly reaching close to 38 oC.

In the article he discussed 5 tips when preparing or exercising in extreme heat. This included a consideration of mechanisms of adaptation, optimisation of hydration, sodium supplementation, cooling strategies and carbohydrate gut training.

The full article can be found here: https://www.insider.com/ironman-sport-scientist-tips-hydration-extreme-heat-2022-7

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Media: The most effective and cheap ways to cool your body during a heat wave, according to scientists

Dr Owen Jeffries (Newcastle University) and Professor George Havenith (Loughborough University) spoke with a reporter from businessinsider.com online news outlet during the extreme heat waves being experienced across America and Europe during the summer 2022.

In the article they explored strategies on how to cool during hot periods of weather implementing simple tasks such as: cooling hands and feet, cold water immersion, spraying clothing with water, eating lighter meals, using electric fans, optimal hydration, and exercising in the heat.

The full article can be found here: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-stay-cool-extreme-heat-scientists-2022-7

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New study: Meta-analysis exploring effects of heat acclimation on VO2max in thermoneutral and hot environments

In our latest study published in Sports Medicine on the 3rd April 2021 led by Dr Mark Waldron (Swansea University), we meta-analysed 28 studies to explore how heat acclimation or acclimatisation can modify maximal oxygen consumption. This is an area of some heated discussion in the literature (see for example the point-counterpoint in J.Physiol here).

To summarise our findings, we found that heat acclimation can enhance VO2max adaptation in thermoneutral or hot environments by at least a small and up to a moderate–large amounts, with larger improvements occurring in the heat.

The article can be found here: 10.1007/s40279-021-01445-6

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New study: Sex differences to L-menthol during exercise in a hot environment

Our latest study has been accepted for publication in the journal Physiology & Behaviour on 1st February 2021. The project was led by a student in our laboratory Miss Abbie Parton.

The work expanded on some of our early work first characterising the effect of non-thermal cooling strategies by applying L-menthol (which is perceived as a cooling flavour) mouthrinse and recording beneficial effects in exercise regulation in hot environments (Flood et al. 2017). In this new study we report a sex-specific difference in how females perceive the application of this “non-thermally” cooling L-menthol rinse during exercise in a hot environment. The impact of such findings are crucial for the exploration of ergogenic supplements for use in hot climates particularly when considering the differences between male and female populations.

The article can be found here: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113250