Water Consumption

[Cathy]

Sandy this one is for you.

My husband has a question.  How much water do you need to drink per hour running?  Is this based on weight of the individual and temperatures where they are running? 

[Sandy]

Hey Cathy.  Everyone is different and for each individual it will be different at different times of the year.  The best thing to do is to weigh yourself before you run, then run, then weigh yourself again.  The difference in weight tells you how much you need to drink.  So for evey pound you lose you have to replace it with 16oz of water.  If you lost 2 lbs in an hour then you would need to drink 32oz of water or 1 liter of water.  Keep in mind that the body will only absorb about 1 liter of water in an hour, more then that and it will sit and slosh around the stomach. :pukeP

[Cathy]

Thanks Sandy
This question actually stemmed from a show that Norm watched on the Death Valley and the Ultra Marathon that was there.  We had been in Death Valley a few years back and the temp was 46.  So we know how hot it can be.  Anyways the one guy that this was centered on dropped out of the marathon because his muscles started twitching.  They were saying that you actually lost 3 ltrs an hour and it the problem was that it was difficult to actually consume enough water to rehydrate yourself. 

[Robyn]

Nice happy face icon you selected, Sandy.  I've felt like that after too much water.

[Sandy]

I liked it too Robyn!

Yes Badwater can be difficult because you do lose much more then you can reabsorb.  A few tricks that help for that race are to NOT get into any airconditioning AT ALL before or during the race.  The body acclimates to the weather and sweating slows down as it becomes more efficient at cooling itself in the heat and humidity.  A quick stop in an airconditioned car undermines those abilities and throws the whole process out.  The other thing they do is wear the white cooling suits and hats which helps to repel the sun and heat.  Also reducing their effort during the hotest times of the day and making sure they get the appropriate amount of electrolytes.  If Norm is interested in reading more about the race   To the Edge: A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance is a good read.

[Jane]

Cathy... is your husband thinking of doing Badwater??   ;)  Or is it you?   

[Cathy]

I am actually surprised that he mentioned it.  I was putting Trysten to bed when it was on so I didn't even see the show but we have watched another one about the buy that tried to walk Death Valley and died and the Dr. that was the coroner for her was actually in this Marathon.

Anyways as I had said, we had been to Death Valley and it was really hot that day.  My husband and son sat in the car and I was out taking pictures.  I love the heat.  The show didn't tell you how much water you would have to consume on an hourly basis at any time let alone a race I guess and he thought to ask me.  I said that I thought that it was about 1 ltr but knew that Sandy would reconfirm with more information to boot. 

Norm is not interested in running and I certainly don't think that this one is for me given the odds.  I would rather go home (Whitehorse Yukon) and do one there if I was about to.

[Jane]

When are you going to Whitehorse?  Sounds like my kind of run too!!  ;)

[Cathy]

I had hoped to get back this summer but it may not happen.  It was that born in 1953 and becoming 53 this year that made me decide that this was the year to go home again.