"One of the "craziest" training regimes an athlete can have is one that needs proper fuelling. But, in trying to carb-load to perform at the highest level, Britain's four-time world champion across a range of Ironman and triathlon disciplines says she was "actually poisoning" her body in the process. For years, Lucy Charles-Barclay had been dealing with stress fractures, joint pain and low energy - with no explanation for the symptoms."
"'This year, my season opened in Singapore which is one of the most brutal conditions to race in,' Charles-Barclay told BBC Sport. 'Even for the swim the water is hot, so you're basically swimming in a bath before getting out for the biking and running.' 'I'm usually training for about 30 hours,' the 32-year-old added. 'I'm doing strength and conditioning, mainly to prevent injury. It's really intense on the body.'"
Lucy Charles-Barclay trained up to 30 hours weekly, including indoor bike workouts of five to six hours, strength, and conditioning to prevent injury. Intensive carb-loading for endurance racing led to unexplained stress fractures, joint pain and low energy. A 2024 diagnosis of coeliac disease revealed gluten was triggering an autoimmune attack on the small intestine, meaning pasta and other carbs were damaging her body. Fuelling remains critical for triathlon events that combine long swims, 56-mile bikes and half-marathon runs in often hot, humid conditions. She adjusted her nutrition, and won a second world Ironman 70.3 title in Marbella.
Read at www.bbc.com
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