Sacramento Running News

How much is enough?

In the days leading up to my ill-fated attempt at last weekend’s Gold Rush 100K, a few people advised me to “Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!” Indeed, for a hot day like Saturday, proper hydration was as key to success as pacing and eating.

Even still, advice on hydration–much of it based more on folklore than science–can be confusing as heck.

Water? Electrolyte drinks? Salt tablets? How much? How often? Even after running dozens of marathons and ultramarathons, I’m still struggling to manage my hydration and fueling.

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Expect to be hearing a lot about Tim Noakes‘ latest book on the subject of hydration and sports. In it, Noakes tears apart much of the dogma surrounding hydration and human performance in athletics.

Joe Uhan, at Irunfar, writes a terrific review of Noakes book, Waterlogged, that is well worth reading. In his review, Uhan writes:

A new book by renowned sport medicine expert, Tim Noakes, MD, aims to change our beliefs– many of them longstanding, many of them inaccurate – on what it means to fuel optimally in endurance sports:

• Drink only to thirst, not on a schedule.
• Drinking does not prevent heat illness.
• Ingesting salt is unnecessary in ultras.
• Urine frequency or color has nothing to do with hydration or kidney function.

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