A BIG QUESTION for runners, even when you’ve been doing it for quite some time, is how the heck are you going to hydrate during longer runs? Training itself is one hurdle, but also figuring out what you’re going to do during a race is an even bigger concern (unless you decide to just grab cups at water stations). How much water should you even be drinking while running?
Our running default is the National Academy of Sciences’ official guideline on hydration, which recommends 3.7 liters of fluid per day for men. But knowing that we get roughly 80 percent of our water from beverages, that rounds out to about 100 ounces a day of water you should be drinking. The big thing is that changes based on your size, your activity level, and the temperature outside—and this is overall, not just while exercising.
For me personally, I can usually avoid bringing water for shorter runs (unless it’s hot out). That’s typically eight miles or under before I need to start considering a hydration plan. But I know of others who can’t go without water on five-mile runs, so it’s all a bit subjective to the runner and something you should figure out through either a sweat rate test or other online tools.
Currently training for the longest race I’ve run (18 miles), I’ve been testing hydration packs, vests, and water bottles to dial in my race day setup. So what sort of options are out there for you? Handheld water bottles that you can strap to your hand are a budget option, require zero setup, and are simple to use.
It’s basically a soft flask with a strap attached that you loop onto your hand. I tested the HydraPak SkyFlask Speed 500 mL on a few different runs of distances from 8 to 12 miles. It was nice to have water with me at these distances, as for two of them it was hot out and I might have just tried to get through it without any hydration on me.
But that’s about where the benefits ended. Running with a water bottle in your hand takes some getting used to and I never got used to it. My hand fell asleep each time around mile 5, my natural gait was pretty altered, and it made apparel adjustments near impossible.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
