Runners, how do you stay hydrated?

janejellyroll

Most runners generally find they don't *need* to hydrate during a 5K (although many races will have water available mid-race). If you're finding yourself thirsty on shorter runs, I would recommend focusing on your hydration the rest of the day and see if that helps.

But at the end of the day, if you feel better running with a water bottle on shorter runs, *do that*. There's no rule that you have to run the way everyone else does. You should run in the way that helps you feel your best. Maybe it will be something you do temporarily, maybe you'll do it forever. Either way is okay.

collectingblues

During a 5K, I don't worry about it -- I can go 36 minutes without drinking.

But, during my longer training runs, I do run on a course that has fairly regularly placed water fountains. When it's hot, and I realize I'm losing fluid quickly, I make an effort to stop at each fountain and drink.

During races, I don't carry anything, and rely on the water stops. That's part of why I also only do well-organized larger races that *have* regular water stops.

victory68

Every single runner is differnt and everyone trains differently. Some people don't like to eat/drink on long runs and others like a snack every mile on the mile. However we also have different definitions of a long run. When I first started a 5k was my long run and I would want water half way through. Now my distance is much greater and my needs for water more trained. If you can plan your runs around "public water stations". I hate carrying a water bottle so I would plan my route to pass the water fountain at the school, the water fountain in the park, pass the grocery stores that offer water samples (olivers market and Whole Foods usually have these) and if I really needed it there is almost always a Starbucks closeby where I can get a free cup of water. If you don't like to carry anything there are usually ways around it. Get creative and find what works for you. Have fun out there. Just remember you are a boss! You run and that makes you awesome!

stanmann571

It's all been pretty well covered.

1. If you pack doesn't fit, it's going to be uncomfortable. Get it snug.
2. Hydrate outside of your training time, you should be able to easily go for up to an hour of work without extra hydration.

7lenny7

TimothyFish wrote: »

Davidsdottir wrote: »

MichSmish wrote: »

For a 5k you definitely shouldn’t need any hydration mid run. You may not be hydrating enough throughout the day as a whole. I can run 12-15 miles without hydrating mid run, but I drink a crap-ton of H20 throughout the day outside of my runs.

Yup, I've never hydrated during a run less than 18 miles, but I drink a gallon of water a day on average.

That is well below the hydration guidelines. You should be drinking something every 10 to 20 minutes, even in the winter. In the summer it is even more important. People have died from not drinking enough water while exercising.

Just who's guidelines are those? Hyponatremia (drinking too much water, thereby lowering your sodium concentration) is more dangerous than dehydration. I can point to cases of runners dying of hyponatremia. Can you find cases of runner dying from dehydration?

That bit about drinking every 10 to 20 minutes is bad advice. Drink to thirst. That's all that's needed.

From this research-based article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5334560/ and condensed for brevity:

Dissemination of more appropriate hydration guidelines is critical, and we recommend that education programs stress the following concepts that are evidence based:

Excessive fluid replacement that goes beyond thirst has not been shown to decrease the development of fatigue, muscle cramping or exertional heat stroke (9).

Modest levels of dehydration are tolerable and pose little risk in healthy individuals. Studies indicate that fluid deficits less than and up to a volume approximately equal to 3% of normal body mass (or ~5% TBW) can be well tolerated (96).

Utilize strategies during exercise to prevent overhydration.

• Drink according to thirst. Because fluid losses through sweat and urine are highly dynamic and variable across individuals participating in a variety of outdoor activities, recommending fixed ranges of fluid intake is not appropriate. The most individualized hydration strategy before, during, and immediately following exercise is to drink fluids when thirsty. Following thirst as a real-time guide appears safe and effective (9, 97).
  
• Reduce the availability of fluids along the routes of exercise.

For a 5K run I wouldn't worry about it. It's virtually impossible to get hyponatremia in a run of that distance (and IS impossible to get dangerously dehydrated in that amount of time)

So, to the OP @chante_04 I would say ignore what every other runner is doing and do what you need to do to make the run a great experience, bring your water bottle, and if you're thirsty, have a drink. If you're not, don't. Better to have it and not want it, rather than want it an not have it. Over time as your body adapts, you may find you can go farther and farther without taking in water.

Be careful with drinking too much before a run or race too. I was needlessly concerned about being dehydrated for my first 5k and drank quite a bit before the race. Big mistake!! It's hard to run your best when you have to pee really bad!!

As far as carrying water, I find for shorter runs (a relative term) a waist pack with the water bottle at the back works well. Another option is a hand-held bottle like this:



With any system, be it a waist pack, hand-held, or a backpack, it will take time to get used to it, so give it several runs before you judge it. Also experiment with moving the pack around. With my waist pack I find I have to push it down low on my hips to feel decent.

Good luck with the running!

Bry_Fitness70

Everyone will tell you that you don't need water for anything less than an hour, but in reality, there are times that you will get thirsty and want something to drink, whether your body actually needs it or not. I have run 5k and 10k races where I took a water cup at mile 1 simply because it looked good.

I plan my training routes around drinking fountains or my house (where I leave a bottled water outside), and during races, I just depend on water stops. I'm not a world class runner where I care if I have to slow down for a few seconds to get a quick drink of water.