1 % Better - Hidden Stories in Sport
Small Margins & Marginal Gains with Dr Sam Shepherd
18 Jul 2025
Prior to our interview which is all about crewing and marginal gains we discuss Tracksmith’s new marathon team, why Nerd Clusters are gaining popularity for fueling and athletes changing countries. Our guest is Dr Sam Shepherd is the head of sports science at Precision Fuel & Hydration and co-director and sports nutritionist at total endurance nutrition. Sam joins us to discuss his experience and learnings from crewing a top 5 finisher at Western States 100. We discuss the narrow margins and marginal gains from crewing including nuances of Western States specifically. (00:00) Introduction(00:20) Medical Question(08:14) Xylon’s Update(11:17) David’s Update(15:17) Community Shoutouts(17:15) Tracksmith Launches a Women’s Marathon Team (19:07) Grand Slam Track’s Payment Issues(22:09) Nerd Clusters for Endurance Fuel (25:33) T&F Athletes Changing Countries (34:29) Other Sport Examples (38:37) What is it Like Representing Another Country(43:25) Interview Starts(45:25) What was Sam’s Role at Western States(49:41) How Do you Build a Fueling Strategy? (52:07) How Does the Environment Modify Things? (55:18) Heat as a Fueling Challenge?(56:50) Why Does Precision Have So Many Athletes Performing Well at Western States?(58:40) What’s Driven the Increase in Pack Usage at Western States?(1:01:45) Planning Aid Stations(1:04:21) Pre Race Preparations for Aid Stations (1:06:45) How Much of the Fueling Plan is Planned vs Adapted? (1:09:27) What Are Some Common Mistakes in Crewing? (1:10:35) What Stuck out to Sam at Western States? (1:12:41) Can You Cool Too Much at Western States? (1:14:46) Review (1:16:24) Doctor’s Office - Noah Lolesio (1:17:37) What We’re Watching Thanks to Precision Fuel and Hydration for their sponsorship, use the link below to get 15% off your first order and support the podcast: https://visit.pfandh.com/theonepercentbetterpodcastIf you’re unsure how which products to use or how to plan your race nutrition check out Precision’s Fuel & Hydration Planner (if you follow this you will have your discount applied automatically on your first order too): https://visit.pfandh.com/onepercentfuelplannerThanks also to Stryd for their sponsorship, check out Stryd:Stryd helps you optimize your training and racing by measuring your running power, providing real-time data to improve efficiency, pace, and performance on any terrain. Plus, it integrates seamlessly with your favorite running watch for real time guidance! Go to https://stryd.live/opb to export Stryd’s cutting-edge technology and how it can empower your run.Article on Bahrain Track Naturalisation Banhttps://www.espn.co.uk/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/40949434/bahrain-track-team-add-athletes-doping-sanctions Submit topics, feedback or questions to us on Instagram via DM or to the email address: [email protected] us on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/onepercentbetterpod?igsh=MW1tcGM4MHQ4bm5oaw== Follow us on X:@PodOnepercent Join the Strava Group:https://www.strava.com/clubs/onepercentbetterpod Royalty Free Music from Tunetank.com Track: Trendy Style by PillowVibes https://tunetank.com/track/1027-trendy-style/
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