UX-UI/subjects/ux/athele-keep-hydrated/user-interviews/interview-script-william.md

William, 33, accountant, French, lives in Paris, France

Run

• What sports do you practice?
  • I train for ultra trails. Ultra = over 50km, Trail = not on the road, in the mountains.
  • My specialty is to run very long races, beyond 3 days, over 300 km. Usually, it's between 50 and 162 km. There are races everywhere on the planet but in France, there is the highest density in the world racing, thanks to the diversity of relief.
  • I also do cycling and endurance, 100km minimum. I once ran 350km on my own. Swimming too but I haven't done it in years.
• How often do you run?
  • 5 times a week. When I train, I run 2 marathons per week.
  • When I go running, I run at least 15 km. I do cycles of 6 to 8 weeks, 1 week of break and I start a new cycle.
  • I run an official race every other week.
  • I am not a professional but I have been sponsored for the last 7 years, that pays for my equipment. Other than that, I'm an accountant in a large corporation.
• When was the last time you went out for a run?
  • Five days ago, last Monday, because I'm sick.

Races

• What was the last race you ran?
  • The last long race I ran was 80km in Paris last January.
  • In trail: World Backyard Racing Championships in 2021. It is a 6.8km loop to do every hour. We start at fixed times. You have to run and be back in time to start again on a new loop. I was representing France. I lasted 34hours, so 220km. But I suffered from hypothermia and missed a start.
• How was it? Tell me about the experience you had.
  • It was incredible. We were 15 and we represented the French team. The country that ran the most laps won. The atmosphere there is very special. Everyone is there for a stopwatch, it’s more individual. There was solidarity between the riders and we had plenty of time to be with the other riders. It really was a social event.
• How did you get prepared?
  • Preparation is based on experience. It’s the accumulation of events that matters. After 30 or 40 races, what you need to train is your mental strength. You need to concentrate kilometers over years and years to make it easy on the D-day. You need to find comfort in discomfort. For my last race, it was 7 weeks of preparation, split, longer outings, 2 marathons per day.
• What would you have done differently? Why?
  • The speed is fixed, so I trained to have constant speed. I know my speed and my landmarks so that I can reproduce it on the D-Day. The time I spent not running, I could use it to rest. You have to be slow enough not to spend too much energy.
  • I would have changed clothes earlier not to have hypothermia. My preparation was good! I had already done that kind of race 6 or 7 times.

Hydration

• What do you remember about the way you hydrated?
  • I’m a pretty bad pupil. I drank water without additives and coca-cola, not at the same time though. In terms of diet; in coca-cola there is sugar and caffeine. Having both is perfect. I have been trying for quite a while to take energy drinks and so on. If you bring your own drinks, you have to be able to recharge with what exists on the race.
• How did you manage your hydration?
  • On very long runs, I also take BCAA amino acids. Those are normally secreted by my body, and I take them to rebuild stocks faster. It has an impact on fatigue.
• Have you ever found yourself in trouble due to hydration? What happened?
  • Yes, a thousand times! Not necessarily on the quality of hydration.
  • I once misplanned my salt: the hotter it is the more salt you need. Because the body evacuates through sweat. If you have less salt, you fall. It happened to me 2-3 times. You can buy salt tablets. It doesn’t taste like salt, and it’s in tablets. You also have salt shakers on the markers. In both cases it doesn't give the impression of thirst in the throat. Anyway, it's important to have was in fluids with you at all times.
  • There was another time when I was running through the Pyrenees on my own. At one point, on the plateaux of Ariège, I had to go 120 km without water except the one I had on me (3L). You normally run 120 km in 1 day and a half. I had been on a constant effort from 7 days (and I was drinking between 6 and 7 liters per day). I had a mental problem. You start to consider puddles of water. It was the end of October and I didn’t meet with a single person. When I finally saw a fountain where I could sleep, it was a resurrection! I drank 2.5L in 20 minutes. I drank all night and started running again the following day.
• What would you never do again? Why?
  • Drinking energy drinks for the specific effort. They are good but there is a problem: you have to mix with your water, it sticks, it is not convenient. You’re getting used to having to deal with this.
  • What is the most optimal in absolute terms is not necessarily the most optimal at the moment. It is necessary to make the choice at the moment (take 1Kg of powder for an ultratrail).
  • If a drink is available on the stand, I take it.
  • Misjudge your journey.
  • Leave without salt or BC2A tablets. It takes up little space but it can save your ass.