Drink Water while Running?

I run with a belt. Generally, if you're running over an hour, you need to have some hydration. I love my belt, it's by fuelbelt. It has a handy pocket in the front to hold gels and such. Make sure you hydrate! As far as when racing goes, I'd love to know that answer, it ends up all over me!

I've used a variety of the hydration belts over the years - 1 bottle, 2 bottles, camelbak style, and never run without it. The amount of water just depends on how fast you go through it.

Some runners deliberately hide extra water along their running route, run loops that come back to the car for refills, or run past places with water fountains and bathrooms to refill. So you do have lots of options.

As for races, I rarely rely on the race course for my liquids.

This is how I do it for races:
5k... I don't drink anything.
10k... carry a small hand-held bottle, just to wet my throat.
10K+... use my own hydration belt w/ 1 bottle.

I just don't like the cups, stopping at water tables, or spilling half the drink on me, so I bring my own.

If you do drink from the cup, the trick is to squish the top of the cup so it funnels out.

Make sure you take fluids every 20 minutes minimum. Chances are when you start to feel dehydrated, you already are.

I have two things I use when running and it depends on how far I go. For shorter runs, I wear a belt with 4 bottles attached to it. For longer runs I wear a Camelback... basically a backpack with a straw that holds 2 liters of water.

Best way to drink from the cups is to fold the mouth in half and pour it into your mouth. With practice, you'll get better at this... otherwise slow down during the water stations to ensure you are drinking it and not spilling it.

And also, because I don't think anyone else talked about this, when running "long" distances, it's probably important to start using some sort of electrolyte replacement. Gatorade, Gatorade Endurace, or your favorite variety. It is a good idea to find out what kind they will be using in the race and prepare for it. Sometimes, these things can affect a runner's stomach differently or not at all.

I would recommend these types of drinks for a half marathon or longer, personally... or shorter distances if it is a pretty hot or humid day. However, everyone is different.

Not replacing your electrolytes can lead to imbalance, which can result in stomach troubles, sausage like fingers, lethargy, cramps, and in extreme cases, seizures and death.

I did a 1/2 marathon June 4th, I have a 2 bottle belt, I put gatorade in the bottles. it helped alot having that with me.... drank the water from the stations.....

I use my Amphipod handheld bottle for shorter runs:
http://amzn.to/lO89Bi

And I use my 70oz Camelbak for longer training runs. For races, just use the handheld and refill at aid stations. Unless it's a short race (10K or less), then don't even take a bottle!