Precision Fuel & Hydration in Christchurch has been chosen as the official hydration partner for the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 European Triathlon Series.

Starting in Aix-en-Provence, France on 19 May, PF&H’s popular PH 1000 electrolyte drink will be available on-course at all events in the series, including this year’s world championship in Nice.

PH 1000 is designed to help athletes pull on two of the ‘three levers’ of endurance sports – fluid and sodium – with the third lever, carbohydrate, being delivered through other energy products and snacks along the race.

It’s been found that this ‘decoupling’ of fuelling and hydration can be beneficial during longer endurance races.

PF&H says its low-calorie, citrus-tasting electrolyte drink contains around twice the sodium of typical sports drinks.

It’s part of the brand’s multi-strength range of hydration products designed to enable athletes to personalise their hydration strategy – which is important, as everyone loses a different amount of sodium in their sweat.

PH 1000 is designed to meet the needs of the average athlete, who loses around 950mg of sodium per liter of sweat, according to thousands of sweat tests conducted by the Dorset company.

Andy Blow, CEO of PF&H, said: “Having raced IRONMAN triathlons as a pro back in the early 2000s, I’m delighted that PF&H is now an official partner.

“It was my own experiences with hydration and cramping issues at Kona that led to the founding of our business back in 2011 and we’ve been helping athletes get ‘the fourth discipline’ right at IRONMAN events ever since.

“We’re really excited to welcome Precision Fuel & Hydration as an official partner for our European IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 triathlons.

Declan Byrne, IRONMAN’s head of operations for the EMEA region, added: “Through this new partnership, we hope to encourage our athletes to take a personalised approach to their hydration strategy on race day, helping them perform and feel their best.

As well as providing IRONMAN triathlon participants with on-course hydration, this year’s IRONMAN races have been added to PF&H’s free Fuel & Hydration Planner, offering athletes tailored advice for their event.

They’ll also be able to book free video consultations to get their race nutrition questions answered by PF&H’s athlete support squad.