Water and Marathons

This was an interesting study about marathon runners and how it's not necessarily the case that by drinking a lot of water during the run will help your performance.

With the Marathon's temperatures reaching 19 degrees Celsius, the average runner will potentially lose almost a litre of sweat every hour and reach a body temperature of over 39 degrees, two degrees above normal. The sporting community has long assumed that drinking large amounts of water helps to keep the body's temperature down, which improves performance. A recent study led by Dr Chris Byrne of the University of Exeter shows that the level of fluid intake has absolutely no effect on body temperature or performance.

Now, don't take this to mean that drinking water while exercising isn't important. You need to listen to your body while you're exercising and drink water when you deem in necessary.

But, on the other hand, there might be a psychological component to drinking a high level of water during a marathon when you don't need it. It might make you FEEL like you're able to perform at a higher level. So if that works for a person, I don't seen any harm in continuing on that same path.

By the way, it IS important to get in liquids after you're done working out. Ideally you should weigh yourself before you workout and then again right after the workout and for every pound you lost, drink 16 ounces of water. That's rarely practical to weigh yourself every time before and after a workout, but, the point is, you do need to rehydrate yourself in order to recover properly.

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