This document answers one question: what is each SiS customer actually asking, and when?

There are two lenses. The five personas are the human, motivational view: who these athletes are and what drives them. The four database segments are the behavioural, commercial view: what each person is worth and what job they represent. Use the personas to decide what to say. Use the segments to decide how and when to convert.

The strategic spine: SiS's biggest white space is not a product gap, it is a content and framing gap. The athlete's most-asked questions, "how much do I need," "will it sit right in my stomach," "is it actually proven," "am I wasting money," map almost exactly onto the things SiS has the authority to own but does not yet lead with. SiS already makes the products and holds the science. The opportunity is to answer the questions, in the athlete's own language, at the moment they ask them.

One truth runs underneath all of it. The SiS athlete is proof-driven, not emotion-driven. They research before they buy, they distrust hype, and they want to be shown evidence, not sold a dream. Everything below is built for that person.

30s to 40s · serious club runner or age-grouper · trains hard, says little

Emotional driver: private mastery. Wants to know they are improving, for themselves, not for an audience. "I don't need everyone to know I'm training. I just need to know I'm improving." The single best fit for SiS's secret-weapon positioning: the quiet edge, not the loud logo.

What they're asking:

• How much carbohydrate per hour should I actually take for a marathon?
• Will these gels upset my stomach over a long race?
• What's the real difference between a 22g and a 40g gel?
• How do I train my gut to handle more carbs?
• Is dual-source carb actually proven, or just marketing?
• What do the elites actually use?

Rising demand: "Carbs per hour" and "gut training" are among the fastest-climbing endurance-fuelling searches. This persona drives them.

Peak moments: Spring marathon block (February to April) and autumn marathon block (August to October), when training intensity and fuelling questions peak together.

Any age · event-led · one big goal, lots of fear

Emotional driver: reassurance. Has signed up for the big one, often for charity, and is quietly terrified of the wall, the stomach, and getting it wrong on the day. Wants a plan they can trust, in plain English, without feeling like a beginner.

What they're asking:

• What should I eat and drink during a marathon?
• How do I avoid hitting the wall?
• When do I take my gels, and how many?
• What if gels make me feel sick?
• How do I carb-load the week before?
• What's a simple race-day fuelling plan for my first marathon?

Rising demand: Huge January and post-ballot spikes (London Marathon ballot results land in the winter, triggering months of anxious searching). Largest overlap with the Dormant base.

Peak moments: January goal-setting, then the 16-week build to spring and autumn races. Great North Run (September) pulls a second wave of first-timers.

30s to 50s · sportive and road cyclist · marginal gains, watts and grams

Emotional driver: optimisation. Treats fuelling as a system to be solved. Knows their FTP, wants to know their carb rate. Will happily pay for a measurable edge and reads the science before buying.

What they're asking:

• How many grams of carb per hour can I actually absorb on the bike?
• What's the best fuelling for a 100-mile sportive?
• How do I get to 90 or 120g an hour without GI distress?
• BETA Fuel 80 vs gels, what's the right mix for a long ride?
• How much sodium do I need for a hot sportive?
• What do the pro teams fuel with?

Rising demand: "High carb fuelling," "80g/100g/120g per hour" and "dual carb" are strongly rising, driven by the pro-peloton trend going mainstream. This persona is the early adopter.

Peak moments: Sportive season (May to August), with the build starting in early spring. Anchored by SiS's British Cycling relationship and Sir Chris Hoy.

30s to 50s · multisport age-grouper · three disciplines, one stomach

Emotional driver: control over complexity. Juggling swim, bike and run means fuelling is the hardest variable to get right. Wants a dialled, rehearsed plan that survives the transition from bike to run without blowing up.

What they're asking:

• How do I fuel a 70.3 or full Ironman without GI issues?
• What do I take on the bike vs the run?
• How do I fuel in the heat at a summer race?
• How much sodium and fluid for a long course in summer?
• What's a complete race-day nutrition plan for my distance?
• Sprint vs standard distance, how does my fuelling change?

Rising demand: "Ironman nutrition plan," "triathlon fuelling" and "heat fuelling" rise sharply through the summer race season. Directly served by the new British Triathlon partnership and the Triathlon Race Packs (Sprint and Standard).

Peak moments: Triathlon season (May to September), with the heaviest planning in spring as athletes lock their race-day strategy.

40s and up · masters athlete · training around work and family

Emotional driver: reliability without faff. Limited time, zero tolerance for anything that goes wrong. Wants products that just work, sit well, and need no fuss. Stomach comfort and trust matter more than novelty.

What they're asking:

• What's a fuelling product that won't upset my stomach?
• Does fuelling change as I get older?
• Is there research on fuelling for women / for masters athletes?
• What's the simplest reliable race-day setup?
• How do I recover faster between sessions with limited time?
• Is this actually worth the money?

Rising demand: "Female athlete fuelling," "perimenopause and running," and masters-specific questions are an emerging, under-served and fast-rising cluster, the freshest white space of any persona.

Peak moments: Year-round, with life-stage and "is it worth it" questions spiking at January reset and September "second season" moments. The natural audience for SiS's 2026 female-specific fuelling research.

The personas tell us who people are. The segments tell us what they're worth and what job each represents commercially. Every activation should be built for one of these four.

4,530 people (~1% of base) · ~£563 LTV · highly engaged

The job: protect and deepen. These are the believers. Cross-sell the full system, convert to subscription, widen the basket, and turn them into advocates whose reviews and word of mouth recruit the next cohort.

What they're asking: What's new? What should I add to my race-day kit? Best bundle or subscription value? What are the pros using this season?

Peak: Year-round, with race-season and new-product spikes. Most responsive to early access and loyalty.

33,556 people (~7.6%) · the growth engine · "show me it works"

The job: convert up the value curve. The single most important commercial group. They have bought, they are open, and they respond to proof. Move them from occasional to committed with evidence: race-day wins, the science, the elite validation.

What they're asking: Does this actually work for someone like me? What should I use for my next race? Is the premium product worth it over the basic one? What do other age-groupers rate?

Peak: Tracks the racing calendar. The highest-leverage single moment across the whole base is the purchase-one-to-two within 30 days: turning a first-time buyer into a repeat buyer before they drift.

14,168 people (~3.2%) · slipping away

The job: win back before they lapse. Bought once or twice, then went quiet. A timely, proof-led nudge tied to their next likely race goal can re-engage them before they become dormant.

What they're asking: Is there anything new worth coming back for? Did I get the most out of what I bought? What would actually help my next race?

Peak: Pre-season re-engagement windows (January and late summer), when a new goal gives a natural reason to return.

387,781 people (~88.1%) · ~£1 AOV · the sleeping giant

The job: win the first or second purchase. The overwhelming majority of the base, mostly one-time or never-activated buyers. The prize is not a clever campaign, it is trust: lower the risk, prove it works, answer the beginner questions honestly, and convert event-led intent (a marathon entry, a first triathlon) into a first real order.

What they're asking: What should I take? Is it worth it? Where do I start? Can I trust this brand? What do people like me use?

Peak: Strongest at January goal-setting and around big mass-participation events (London Marathon, Great North Run), when first-timers come looking for a plan.

Endurance demand is driven by the racing season, and it arrives early, because athletes buy during the 12 to 16-week training block, not race week. The calendar below maps the question to the month it is searched, which is weeks ahead of the race itself.

The year-round thread: science and proof-seeking never stop, and the 2026 female-specific fuelling research (Morton, McColgan, Holly Archer) is the freshest, most ownable narrative of the year. It cuts across every month and speaks directly to the fastest-rising, least-served question cluster in the category.

Cross-referenced to the competitive landscape. These are the highest-value questions to own, where real, rising demand meets a SiS content or framing gap.

The questions endurance athletes ask most, how much do I need, will it sit right, is it proven, am I wasting money, where do I start, map almost exactly onto the content and tools SiS is missing. SiS already holds the science, the Informed Sport trust, the elite proof and the products. The demand is for guidance, personalisation, stomach-comfort reassurance and honest value, framed in the athlete's own language at the moment they ask.

Close that gap, and SiS answers the highest-volume, highest-trust questions in the category, and becomes not just the brand with the best science, but the brand that answers the question. That is what "You can't beat the science" looks like when it is pointed at the customer instead of the lab.