Hydration 

"For most college athletes the competitive event will last less than 45 minutes. In race hydration is not an absolute necessity. Unless it is an unusually warm day your pre-race hydration strategy should be enough to get you safely across the finish line. For middle distances from 1500m to 10k, pre and post race hydration strategies are paramount."

The water bottle. A token symbol of runners, exercisers and health conscious individuals everywhere. 

But is it necessary to intake water in the ways and through the means that so many individuals do these days?   There are many studies that take multiple approaches to evaluating the role of hydration in both the general population and among those that exercise regularly. Water is intricately linked with many physiological systems and immune functions as well as being the primary building block of our physiology itself. While hydration is a complicated subject when discussing the topic, especially in athletes, there are several keys and common sense points that can ensure runners keep their fluid balance where it needs to be for optimal performance. Understanding fluid balance, sweat rates and the individual needs of athletes will allow coaches and athletes to avoid dehydration. 

Hydration Notes

1. For events taking less than 45 minutes in race hydration is not usually necessary under regular conditions and hydration status.

2. Athletes and coaches should monitor hydration status before and after key hard or long workouts that could create risk-factor producing sweat rates.

3. Regular water intake during meals or occasionally during the day will provide athletes with healthy hydration levels on days where sweat rates are not above normal

4. Water is best for in-workout hydration for workouts of 30-60 minutes

5. During workouts of 60+ minutes the body has been shown to gain the benefit of absorbing carbohydrates found in sports drinks

6. Athletes should only use sports drinks after they have become aware of their individual response to the different elements of such refreshments

7. Some athletes gain the benefit of sports drink consumption from a few seconds of rinsing the beverage in their mouths then spitting it out

8. Every athlete and coach should be aware of their own personal preferences & needs

Other keys

• Only 2/3 of fluid loss can be replaced voluntarily; it takes time to rehydrate
• Sweat rates vary greatly based on many factors including fitness
• It is difficult to make widespread hydration strategies without knowing individual history & current situation
• Most regular runners will sweat at a rate of 1-4 lbs/hour
• Urine test is still an effective way to monitor hydration
  • Dark urine coming in small volumes indicates potential dehydration risk
  • Pale yellow urine in reasonable volume indicates healthy hydration
  • If taking vitamins, urine may be dark at times, use volume as indicator
  • A simple google search on urine color will produce helpful charts
• Sweat loss also includes the loss of micronutrients more commonly known as electrolytes

Water Gain & Loss

References

Clark, N. (2014). Nancy Clark's Sport Nutrition Guidebook (5th Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Eberle, S. G. (2014). Endurance Sports Nutrition (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics

Maughan, R. J., & Shirreffs, S. M. (2008). Development of individual hydration strategies for athletes. International journal of sport nutrition & exercise metabolism, 18(5).

Noakes, T. D. (1985). Temperature Regulation in Exercise, The Lore of Running (4th ed., pp 197-230). South Africa: Oxford University Press.

Peterson, J. A. (2004). Take Ten: Take-and-Save: 10 Nice-To-Know Facts About the Body's Need for Water and    Hydration. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal,8(4), 44.

Riebl, S. K., & Davy, B. M. (2013). The Hydration Equation: Update on Water Balance and Cognitive Performance. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, 17(6), 21-28.

Tam, N., & Noakes, T. D. (2013). The quantification of body fluid allostasis during exercise. Sports Medicine, 43(12), 1289-1299.