How Much Should You Drink Before a Marathon?

As a runner, dehydration must be one of the problems you encounter in your day to day workouts. Many might wonder, is it true that desiccation as little as two percent can bring about the negative effect on performance, and how do major marathon winners manage to run as fast at the finish line as they started the run with almost nine percent dehydration? The following are answers to your questions.

Dehydration comes about when one is induced through inert heat exposure prior to exercise. A negative effect on performance results when one begins to exercise while two or more percent dehydrated as opposed to an individual who starts exercising while hydrated. Therefore, dehydration has little effect on performance to individuals who drink plenty of fluids to fulfill their thirst. You are advised to keep a 1 Gallon Coldest Water Bottle that keeps the cold for more than 36 hours.

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Ensure Runners Start an exercise while Well Hydrated:

The “two-percent dehydration” citation is therefore ambiguous. But it’s important to begin exercise while well hydrated especially when the exercise is a marathon. Therefore emphasis is to ensure runners start an exercise while well hydrated.

Waterlogged:

Most runners tend to obsess in their pre-race hydration behaviors. They tend to consume excess fluids in an attempt to minimize the effects on their performance at the race end by attaining maximum hydration at the beginning of a marathon.

Coaches and sports nutritionists often teach this practices to the runners. Dave Munger, the running blogger, says that marathoners must keep them pre-hydrate to their maximum before a race and keep the coldest water bottle always. It’s believed that peeing frequently gives good results. In this case, runners are encouraged to have enough to ensure their urine stream is clear.

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Exercise and Hydration:

Most runners fail to understand that this advice is part of a making program. Most nutritionists and coaches who give the “pre-maximum hydration” advice had their knowledge on pre-hydration exercise from sources that go years back to the 1996 report on exercise and hydration written by American College of Sports Medicine. When ACSM published the statement two “Platinum Level” corporate sponsors backed them up: Gatorade and the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.

Excessive consumption of fluids before a race is wrong. It increases the number of times a runner pees before and after the race. There is little capacity in our bodies to store extra fluid. Hence, the excess fluid one takes goes directly to the bladder unless one finds a way to severely become dehydrated before a race. Twelve to fifteen ounces taken between wake up time and an hour before a race gives good results.

Hydrate Before a Race:

Waterlogged author, Tim Noakes advices athletes to take a drink an hour before starting a race. The advice is important since the runners wouldn’t feel the need to visit the washroom during a race. But many runners who don’t understand the concept tend to consume fluids up to just before the race which results in catastrophic effects on their performance in the race.

Runners must hydrate themselves before a race with a sports drink, water, juice or even a kind of liquid meal. Keep the liquid in 1 Gallon Coldest Water Bottle that keeps the liquid cool over 36 hours.