Runners, do you use a hydration pack...

Tracieisfitastic

To keep hydrated during races?

7lenny7

It would depend on the total distance, the distance between aid stations, whether I wanted to stop at the aid stations, and what the temperature was.

For 10K and under, not under any circumstance.

For a half marathon, no, unless it was really hot. I just ran one last weekend and didn't use one.

Full marathon or longer, I bring a bottle of water, but not a hydration pack. The biggest reason I carry one is so that I have water to wash down the gels during the race, otherwise I'd use the aid stations.

MeanderingMammal

As above, a lot depends on the race; total distance, distance between aid stations and what the aid stations are carrying. At most of my races they're a fair distance apart but have cake, fruit, pies, water, coke, beer, nuts etc

If I'm using my race vest, I have an Inov-8 Race Ultra which has:

• Main back compartment - Jacket and overtrousers, first aid kit, toilet wipes, hand wipes, sanitiser, mobile phone, fresh socks, space blanket, gloves, hat and spare nutrition. As an alternative it could take up to 3litres in a bladder but I've never done that.
• Right hand shoulder strap - 2 compartments; 3 gels, lip balm, sun-cream
• Left hand shoulder strap - 2 compartments; camera, spare buff, whistle
• Right & left flank - 500ml bottle each side, generally with Tailwind

That covers off the compulsory kit list, and if needed I can add a base layer into the main body if that's what the race requires. I don't carry all of that, all the time.

Djproulx

I have started wearing a vest on longer runs and will probably wear it for an upcoming marathon in March. My coach is a fanatic about having her athletes stay on top of fueling and hydration, so we practice race day fueling on each long run. I wear the Ultimate Direction TO 3.0 race vest to carry liquid fuels(such as First Endurance, Tailwinds, Heed, etc) as well as Gels, salt tabs, shot bloks, etc. The vest is very light and stores everything easily.
The main benefit is that I won't be as dependent on aid stations and can use the same fuels and fluid mixes that I have consumed during my training.