(funky dance music)
- I'm here at the aid station of Ironman Frankfurt,
the European Championships.
Now, I thought we could run through the aid station today,
share some tips, tricks,
and some methods to going through the aid station
in the best way possible.
Also taking a look at how some of the athletes
are coming through there,
both age group and pro alike,
and hopefully you, maybe even as a beginner,
can take something away from this.
(funky dance music)
Okay, so we're actually here at a run aid station
on the run course here at Frankfurt,
and that's really quite big aid station actually.
I mean obviously it's an Iron Man race,
but in quite extreme conditions here,
so they're making sure the athletes are well looked after.
Doesn't differ too much for a bike aid station.
We have Coca-Cola, we've got some energy gels, energy bars,
we have some bananas, cakes, we've got some Red Bull,
Coca-Cola, water, isotonic drink,
sponges, ice, and salt.
You name it, all sorts here.
But one thing you really do need to remember,
a good ground rule here, is that all these people,
very kind people, handing out the stuff to you here,
are all volunteers,
and they've been particularly nice to us today,
trying to keep us cool whilst we were filming.
So do be really thankful to them
as you're going through and taking stuff.
But now let's run through each of the stations individually,
to see how they can help you through your race.
(upbeat dance music)
Okay, so I touched a little bit
on the different preferences,
and you got a very good example behind me here,
so we got bananas and cakes on one stand,
and then we've got energy gels, energy bars
on the stand directly next to that.
One is a very quick release,
whilst the other is a bit of a more slower release.
But, energy gels, often a really popular option,
particularly over 70.3, it's very quick release,
and just easy to take on and absorb.
Bananas and cakes,
obviously is a little bit harder to eat
as you're going into a race,
but tend to be a little bit more popular
in the longer distance races like an Ironman.
A lot of people just like the comfort
of having something they're really used to,
and also,
just the fact that taking gels for a whole Iron Man
can just seem a little bit too much sometimes.
(funky dance music)
So we've got a few different drink stations here as well.
As I mentioned before, we got water, isotonic, Coca-Cola,
and Red Bull right here.
So what I would suggest where you can,
is actually sticking to water and isotonic drinks
for the first stages of the race,
or as long as you can do.
Coca-Cola and Red Bull is fantastic,
as I'm sure you're all aware,
with that sugar in it, and the caffeine,
but what happens is, once you start taking that,
now, I must say, I'm not a nutritionist, or any scientist,
but what seems to happen is that once you start on that,
you almost seem to need to maintain it,
otherwise you have this slump.
Can also sometimes play havoc with some people's stomachs,
so try not to take too much of it on, but my goodness,
it can really help when you start
to get into those low points during a race.
(upbeat dance music)
Right, so this is one of my favorite aid stations,
this is the sponge aid station,
so these kind people are handing out these sponges
that are just soaked up with icy-cold water
like I've got in my hand here.
Fantastic for a race like this, where it's super, super hot.
So what the athletes do, grab these sponges they give 'em
and smash 'em over their head
and all that water's going to release over them.
But what you see a lot of the athletes doing,
as this chap has just here,
is actually grabbing a load of 'em
and shoving them down their suit,
and then that cold water's then just going to release
over the next few k whilst they run.
(bright dance music)
So this is the ice station.
You don't get these at all races, actually,
but obviously this is a particularly hot event,
so they're making sure that all the athletes are sorted
and trying to keep cool.
Athletes use these in loads of different ways,
so we've seen athletes chucking the ice cubes into hats,
popping the hats on their heads,
allowing the ice cubes to melt,
chucking them down their suits
in a similar way to the sponges,
or just simply running off
with the ice cubes in their hands,
and also just allowing them to melt
and hopefully cooling them down
over the next few k, whilst they run.
(funky dance music)
Guys I'm sandwiched right now between a water station
and an isotonic drinks station,
and as you can see,
I have been victim to a bit of splash back.
And these are the things
these volunteers have to put up with.
But no, seriously, the water station is,
well, everyone knows what water is,
but obviously trying to keep them hydrated.
It hasn't got anything extra in it,
so if you do want something that's going to keep you hydrated,
and also help give you energy,
then that's where the isotonic station comes in.
Sometimes it's just nice to have something plan and simple,
wash the mouth out, easy to get down,
isotonic station can certainly come in useful
if you're trying to keep those energy levels high,
and also stay hydrated
in conditions such as we've got today.
(funky dance music)
Right this is something you get at all aid stations,
but it's a shower station.
Now it is super hot here,
athletes will have been dreaming of this station probably
for the last few kilometers of their run,
so it's just an opportunity for them to stand under it,
soak themselves in ice-cold water,
and just reduce that core body temperature.
(funky dance music)
Okay, and behind us, we have the toilets.
Now won't stay here too long,
just in case we see something we'd rather not,
but fairly important part to the course,
particularly over the longer distance events,
such as an Iron Man as we're here at today.
But they will have toilets dotted throughout
the race course,
and pretty much can guarantee
that there'll be toilets at most aid stations.
So just good to know,
when you're heading out onto that race.
And we've also got a drop zone for your litter here.
Now, on the bike, you will have a drop zone at the beginning
and at the end of the aid stations.
Now you are not allowed to drop your litter
outside of those drop zones,
otherwise you'll be awarded a penalty,
or further, may be disqualified.
So, if you are carrying any empty gels or any rubbish,
for that matter, you have to drop that in those drop zones.
Or if you collect anything through the aid stations
and you use that,
then you can drop that also in that drop zone after.
On the run course there's a few more bins
dotted throughout the aid stations,
so we've got a big one here, with a number of bins.
Just be a good citizen,
try and get your litter in there if you can,
but you will not be penalized if you do not get it in there,
as you can see, there's a lot of litter dotted around here,
but just be mindful and try and get it in there if you can.
And one final thing to think about is actually the pace
that you come through the aid stations at.
Now I know that sounds funny,
but I remember Jan Frodeno saying
that when he first started doing Iron Man racing,
he actually walked through all the aid stations,
even from the off, when he felt fresh.
Now that's just a really good tactic actually,
to make sure that you're maintaining that energy,
getting all the fuel on that you need,
you're staying hydrated,
and then you can crack on after that.
Now we've seen a lot of people adopting that method,
whether they intended to or not, I'm not sure.
But yeah, really interesting to see.
Also, don't forget, these guys are absolute heroes here,
they've been fantastic,
handing out all this stuff voluntary
to the racers and competitors today,
and also helping us out.
If you liked today's video,
please do hit that thumbs-up button,
if you'd like to see more from GTN,
don't forget to click on the globe
and subscribe to the channel.
And if you'd like to see our mount and dismount video
with the pros from the championship race in Slovakia,
you can see that by clicking here.