Running Dehydration Symptoms

Water intake is absolutely crucial in facilitating blood flow to the key parts of the body that are under stress when we run. It’s common knowledge that blood carries oxygen, nutrients, and sodium to working parts of the body, those being our heart, lungs, and muscles. When dehydration occurs, our blood thickens, reducing the rate of blood flow to these key systems and body components, reducing performance and placing undue amounts of stress on the body. Think of it like this – blood transports our fuel: food and water! Generally speaking, the harder you run, the more water your body will use.

How do you know if you’re dehydrated whilst running?

There are a number of easily identifiable symptoms which I’m sure you’ve heard of before. The first one is feeling thirsty. It is true that you’re already dehydrated, or on a path to dehydration if you feel thirsty. So drink before you feel the signals. Other symptoms include (this list is not exhausted):

Increased fatigue and feeling a lack of energy
Headaches
Dryness in mouth
Stomach upset, often runners complain of gastrointestinal (G.I) distress
Cramping of muscles – for me personally, my calves cramp at night sometimes causing a bad sleep if I haven’t had enough water in the day
Seeing stars, feeling dizzy and/or lethargic
Inability to/and or difficulty concentrating

In 2007 the American College of Sports Medicine stated that “dehydration = 2% of body weight degrades aerobic exercise performance in temperate-warm-hot environments and that greater levels of dehydration will further degrade exercise performance.” Thus, the aim is to begin exercise well hydrated, and maintain fluid levels throughout long bouts of exercise, and replenish afterward. It’s pretty simple really. If you can, step on the scales first thing in the morning, before you go on your next long run, and immediately on return, step on the scales. If a bodyweight loss is greater than 2%, “endurance performance will suffer.”

From a medical standpoint, dehydration is caused when running by a number of factors, including respiratory losses (sweating and heavy breathing), substrate oxidation (burning energy, measured from indirect calorimetry measurements), water oxidation and lack of water availability to the bladder. With all these factors combined, up to 2% of body mass loss can potentially occur.

Does dehydration affect running?

We need to remember that around 60% of our body is composed of water, so it makes up a fair amount of our total body weight. As discussed above, if the runner were to lose roughly 2% of their body mass, endurance performance will decrease. This means a slower pace, reduced recovery ability, and an all-round bad experience. Why let something you can control and plan for race day, ruin your run? If we drink fluid in the correct amounts, timed well, we can ensure better performance on your next run or race day.

Have you ever heard of the term “bonking” or “hitting the wall”, in association with running? Bonking means a sudden loss of energy and a high onset of fatigue. Dehydration can contribute to “bonking”, which essentially leads to a drastic reduction in athletic performance and a potential inability to continue the athletic activity. It is also largely a result of a lack of glycogen availability to send to the muscles and liver. I’d recommend for events longer than an hour, sipping on a carbohydrate-electrolyte solution, alongside easy to digest snacks to prevent bonking. For events less than 1 hour, staying well hydrated in the days before, the morning of and afterward is crucial.

Another thing to consider is some people sweat more than others. This can be to do with the person’s gender, size, and weight. What this means for the runner, is it is a very personalized approach. The plan must be tried and tested. Don’t try something new on race day, or too close to race day.

How do you avoid dehydration when running?

The top priority is to replace water that has been lost through sweating post-exercise for shorter running sessions and sip on water for sessions longer than 1hr. It is also important to maintain hydration throughout the day, including before exercise. No need to go overboard, however, a glass of water in the morning, first thing can really help kickstart the day and set you up for a better run. As someone who hasn’t drunk enough water in the past, I recently made it a habit to have a glass of water as my first task in the morning, and I have felt better throughout the day as a result of this.

An Oxford Academic article observed the relationship between dehydration and endurance performance in competitive athletes. The main takeaways from this article are the importance of beginning exercise well-hydrated for longer bouts of endurance exercise (which can be monitored by urine color; pale is generally better), and encouragement of mouth-rinsing with sports drinks throughout the activity.

It is possible that Mouth rinsing Carbohydrate solutions could be beneficial for endurance performance, i.e running. This process involves sipping and swishing around a “carbohydrate-electrolyte solution” in your mouth during the endurance event. Whilst there has been little study on the potential benefits of this method, the evidence suggests that endurance performance around 1 hour in length if the “subject has fasted”, can have a beneficial effect on performance. I have done this myself in races around 10km, and longer runs, however not in a fasted state. What I did find from a performance standpoint is less hunger upon finishing my run, I didn’t feel as fatigued at the end, and I felt I could’ve run further if I desired. I do believe there is something to be said for this. This particular study revealed that “studies using functional MRI and transcranial stimulation have provided evidence that carbohydrate in the mouth stimulates reward centers in the brain and increases corticomotor excitability.” Essentially, the brain is tricked into improving performance which is likely associated with corticomotor excitability.

How do you hydrate before running?

I personally like to drink a glass of water in the morning first thing, with a light snack if I am doing a morning run. If I am going to run a little later in the day, I’ll ensure I’m sipping regularly. If I have access to a hydration formula, like Nuun, SOS Hydration, or Hydralyte Sport as examples, I’ll add a tablet to my water bottle for the day. This is even better than water from a hydration standpoint. I’m a big advocate for finding a personal balance for training, recovery, and a racing strategy. This can improve your performance and ability to recover well. During a race or long run, I like adding Tailwind powder to my bottle as it is a preservative-free (better for you, and your gut!), electrolyte and carbohydrate solution.

I want to break down my personal race strategy so you can see an example:

48 hours before a race, I ensure I am sipping on water regularly, and having an electrolyte tablet at least once a day. I don’t want to be dehydrated on any day leading into a race. (Unless of course, you are deliberately practicing dehydration for a race environment/personal factor of performance)

Morning of the race, I make sure to have a glass of water first thing and sip on water (not excessively), up until 30-45 minutes before the race. The reason I point out not to overdo it is because a glugging gut can hinder performance.

For longer races around 10-21km (10km is a personal preference, not necessary unless hot conditions) utilize aid stations, and don’t carry a personal water supply unless necessary. In trail events, however, I often carry water and others will do the same due to the nature of the race. For marathon and ultramarathon distances, personal aid station drinks are a good idea. This should be pre-planned, tried and tested well before race day for this scenario.

Post-race, it’s important to replenish lost stores. I like to drink an electrolyte solution and aim to consume a couple of cups of water in the 30 minutes after a race. Normally 1 before cool-down and another after. Keep sipping on water throughout the day, and the day after whilst the body recovers from the effort.

Don’t forget that it is also optimal to refuel carbohydrate and protein stores within 30-1 hour of hard/long effort or race finish for maximum recovery benefit. Carbohydrates will top up your depleted glycogen stores and protein will help kickstart muscle tissue damage.

Is it ok to drink water during a run?

Absolutely. If I’m doing a long run, I’m a big fan of carrying a water bottle in a belt with me, often with some tailwind solution if the run is 75 minutes or more. If this is a no-go for you, you could potentially design your run route around access to water (water fountains/bubblers, run via home). If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere more rural, or a running around trails, planting water bottles might be a good idea. Think of it as a mini aid station!

What about over-hydrating?

Yes, there is such a thing as drinking too much water. This is known as hyponatremia and can be just as dangerous as dehydration, if not more so. The key to knowing what hydration plan or method is going to work best for you personally, is through processes of trial and error. In sports medicine terms, being over-hydrated causes a low sodium level in the blood and blood volume is reduced. The hormone ADH (anti-diuretic hormone) is released, which retains water. This dilutes the blood, lowers the sodium levels, and prevents consistent blood flow and necessary nutrient transportation to the body.

Some nifty tips to hydrate well, and save money

Save your money with the fancy electrolyte tablets and instead try a small amount sweetened iced tea powder sachet (I use these)
Try making your own hydration drink. I love the Run Fast Eat Slow Cookbook recipe. It’s all about sodium content, a bit of carbohydrates and water of course!
Eat watermelon after running with your meal – it’s got simple carbohydrates for quick glycogen replenishment and has a nice water content.

Taking An Ice Bath After Running

Ice baths are a well-known method that many athletes, particularly runners, incorporated as a part of their recovery regimen. It’s important to any sports-person that recovery is optimized, time-effective and sport relevant. For athletes regularly involved in competition, It is essential that they recover quickly for their next training session or event, especially if they are competing within a close time framework. This allows them to perform at their best, under the given circumstances.

A few other things to consider are the individualization and periodization (what time of season you are in), the goals of the athlete, and if there is an injury involved, all of which impact a recovery routine. Personally, I like to establish a recovery routine that is quite diverse, so the body doesn’t get too used to one method. I include stretching, neural flossing, foam rolling, trigger ball releasing, Normatec boots (or anything similar), dry-needling, sports massage, A-stem/Graston technique and the occasional ice bath. Recently, I purchased a pair of recovery sandals/flip-flops to walk around the house and run errands in. We’re heading into Summer now in the US, and I don’t want to be stuck in a pair of crappy flip-flops 24/7 which aren’t optimal for a runner’s feet. After all, they are your assets! Try https://www.oofos.com/.

Are ice baths good for recovery after running?

This is a hot topic of debate, and currently, a large body of research has been conducted around the topic and studies are ongoing at present. I decided to consult a number of studies from accredited journals (the perks of having access to a university library!), and Sydney SportsMed Specialists to double-check my findings. What is an ice bath? Basically, it is 10-15 minutes in very cold water (50-59 F) after an intense exercise session. Many professional sports outfits across numerous contact and collision sports promote the benefits of ice baths with their athletes.

Interestingly, Ice Baths may not be all they are hyped up to be. Other recovery methods are likely to be better from a sports medicine standpoint. However, I’m a believer in placebo also, so if it makes you feel good, then go for it! The evidence for ice as a treatment for acute injuries is also under challenge, Although the jury remains out on that one.

A study was conducted for the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, on the effect of an Ice Bath for recovery in U/20 Rugby Union Players. There was no significant difference between the group that did utilize an Ice Bath and the group that didn’t post-session (specifically, this was tested after multiple shuttle workouts, a 300m running test). Considering this, the article illustrated that “during pre-season training, the physical work undertaken may be more important than the recovery protocol for improvements in fitness parameters tested in this study.” Just food for thought.

Further, a research article from The Journal of Physiology (2017) concluded that “cold water immersion (CWI) is no greater than active recovery upon local and systemic inflammatory cellular stress in humans” (pp. 1857). In other words, active recovery is no better than taking an ice bath. What the article did mention, however, is that CWI “may be useful within competition settings..with a short turn-around, of a particularly damaging nature, or in high environmental temperature” (1858). Yet it posed that during pre-season, it might hinder the athlete’s ability to adapt to the training, and potentially hinder performance. What is concluded: Cold Water Immersion has “a lack of impact..on the post-exercise inflammatory and cellular stress response” (1858). Briefly coming back to the comment on environmental temperature, CWI is certainly a very important intervention in the treatment of exercise associated heat illness, say during or after an endurance event. It does, however, seem of less importance in recovery from training or competition. Please note, that the study only included 9 young men, aged 19-24 years doing resistance training 3 times a week, so it was not a particularly large study.

I wanted to take a further look into the potential benefits of cryotherapy on provoking an anti-inflammatory response. A study published in The European Journal of Applied Physiology (2013) utilized a randomized trial to examine the “effect of cryotherapy on the inflammatory response to muscle-damaging exercise” (2577). The study involved 20 active males completing a 40-minute run downhill (10%), at 60% of VO2 Max, to “induce muscle damage”. After they completed the exercise, they sat in an ice bath (5 degrees C) for 20 minutes. From the results gathered, 20 minutes of immersion did not impact the level of soreness or assist the short-term loss of strength after the muscle-damaging exercise.

So, with all this information, what is beneficial when it comes to Cold Water/Ice? I find that the well-known R.I.C.E method (rest, ice, compress, elevate) is pretty trusty. If I have irritation or inflammation in a particular area, I’ll R.I.C.E it for 20 minutes, 3 times a day. If you’re lucky and own or have access to the Ice compression gear/technology, go for that! I do believe that there is still a lack of research surrounding hot and cold water immersion/contrast therapy. There will always be the proponents and the detractors. The timing surrounding this recovery method and specific temperatures need to be questioned and clarified with further research.

Why do Ice Baths make me feel good?

The placebo effect may arise from the fact that the CWI causes vasoconstriction (narrowing of the arterial vessels in the peripheries) and the feeling of the warm blood rushing in from the core when one gets out of the bath can give an invigorating feeling and make you feel good. This gives the feeling of improved perceived recovery. It also may decrease the effects of heat and humidity, if the athlete is playing or training in those types of environmental conditions, by lowering the core temperature a degree or so.

What about after HIIT training, specifically for runners?

This paper focuses specifically on a group of 9 runners who did a CWI (cold water immersion) after a HIIT session. One group participated in CWI immediately post-session and the other 3 hours after. The study was conducted to determine whether it would improve next-day exercise performance.

The study showed some benefits of CWI in a yoyo test. Note, that this is not training or competition, but could be an indicator of potential benefits of an Ice Bath. More study is needed as to how much benefit, which is unknown at present, and a larger sample size of runners…

What do you do after an ice bath?

In terms of the post Ice Bath routine, there isn’t too much to it. Simply dry off well, change into some warmer comfy clothes, or my personal favorite, compression gear, and recover after your workout or event. If you’re finding it hard to warm up again, try a hot drink or soup.

How often should you take ice baths after running?

Generally speaking, ice baths are best utilized after sessions that involve high muscle-damaging activity. For the runner, a hard interval session, tempo session, between track events or post-race are all good times to take an ice bath.

Remember, you don’t have to immerse your entire body in the bath if you don’t want to, just soaking the legs is also common.

Should I take a warm bath after an ice bath?

It’s not ideal to jump straight into a warm bath or hot shower after an Ice Bath – it kind of defeats the purpose. Unless you’re deliberately doing hot and cold contrast therapy to recover, stick with just an ice bath. If you absolutely need to, take a luke-warm shower after, but nothing too hot (like your usual shower, sadly).

How long should you ice bath after running?

I know the recommended amount of time for an Ice Bath immersion lies around 5-20 minutes depending on how accustomed you are to them, and how cold the water is. If you’re a first time user, start off with less and don’t beat yourself up if you can’t stay in for the whole length of time. If the water is super cold, go for less time, and vise versa. I personally set a timer and try to relax. Placing a big warm towel beside the bath is a must, it makes the whole idea of an Ice Bath easier to digest.

Remember to cool down/warm down after your event before hopping into an Ice Bath, however, so your muscles are relaxed and heart rate (HR) has had a chance to decrease and signal the body to begin the recovery process.

Should you stretch after an ice bath?

It’s a good idea to stretch after any hard training session or event, after a cool-down/warm-down. However, if you didn’t find the time, or hopped straight into an ice bath after your session, once you hop out and get warm, it is a good idea to do some light stretching. Don’t stretch when you are cold, immediately after the bath. I also stress the importance of moving around a bit throughout the day or evening post-race. Don’t get stuck in the same position for extended periods of time, as this hinders recovery and tightens muscles.

There’s no doubt it’s crazy times we live in right now. We need to be smart with spending whilst still fueling our body to stay as healthy as possible. I run at the moment for the pure joy of it, the outdoors time each day and the mental clarity it provides. When I’m consistently running, I’m almost always hungry. It is important to consider the necessary nutritional intake for any training you may be doing at this time. Stress is stress, whether it be physical or mental, so eating well, and enough is essential to keep the immune system in check. Don’t let this one slide right now.

I’ve put together these tips for you, so you can save some extra cash in these next few months (or however long this thing is going to last!), and still enjoy your cooking and eating.

Write a list

Writing a grocery list might sound like a frustrating thing, however, it will ensure your grocery trip is the most cost-effective and time-efficient. You’re more likely to stick to your grocery budget if you write a list!

There are so many phone apps for writing shopping lists. A few I recommend in America are Mealime, Anylist, and Cozi Family Organizer. For my Aussie readers, Grocereaze, Buy Me A Pie! And Out of Milk.

When writing a list, it can be handy to categorize it. Most grocery stores will have the fresh produce and potentially specific colder goods in the first few aisles or entry section, so I tend to write these on the list first, as shown in my sample template below. Often the bakery section and bulk produce are in the same area, so I place any goods I need from these sections next. The middle aisles hold the cheapest food items, that last the longest. Essentially, your non-perishables like canned goods, preserves, nut butters, cereal, pasta, rice, etc. Meats and often dairy goods are in the same general area towards the back or sides of the store. I like to add these goods to the right side of the list. There are also frozen goods, pharmaceuticals, toiletry needs, and cleaning products, which I put at the bottom of the list.

Navigating the grocery store like a pro

Have you ever walked into a grocery store, and not known where to start? The middle aisles hold the cheapest items that last the longest. Keep in mind that this is great for saving money. If you’d rather fruit and vegetables that last a while, remember you can always get canned, frozen, or chop them up and freeze them yourself. I like to freeze bananas and chop up veggies to freeze for roasting or stir-fry later.

Another nifty tip is to always look high and low in the aisle. Fun fact, grocery stores make most of their money off brands paying to have their product placed in prominent positions around the store, not you as a consumer. The most expensive products will be placed in the middle. Generic brand products often taste the same, so save money where you can here.

Always look at the price per weight, ounce or serving if applicable. You’ll always get the better deal. The first situation I think of where I use this most is milk and toilet paper (although I wouldn’t stress about the latter, there isn’t any, anyway). Also, always buy in bulk for goods you use often. It’s the same deal with cost-effectiveness. Think oats, rice, flour, sugar, pasta, olive oil, chicken stock, seasonings, etc.

Choosing the goods.

On a budget, being open to eating cheaper cuts of meats is prime. Chicken thighs are cheaper than chicken breast, and often marinate better and contain all the flavor. Don’t believe me? Try cooking a curry with chicken breast, and then try one with thighs. Life changer.

Do your own slicing, dicing, and shredding. The stores always charge more if they make cuts or shred the item for you.

Shopping in categories for the time savvy

I’ve found it’s a good idea to have a knowledge of where you can buy produce the cheapest, packaged goods, and toiletry products. This makes grocery shopping most effective cost-wise, however, if the stores are far apart and you don’t own a vehicle, this can be a little tricky. For example, in Boise (Idaho), close to Boise State University campus and downtown, we have an Albertsons, Wholefoods, Trader Joe’s and Winco. There’s a Walmart, Costco and Fred Meyer in other areas of Boise, but they’re not easily accessible by bike or particularly close to BSU campus. These are also cheaper options.

For organic produce at a lower cost: Albertsons (open nature generic brand products), Trader Joe’s (How is it so cheap for good quality? Check out this post)
Cheapest: Winco, Walmart
For organic produce, regardless of cost: Wholefoods, Albertsons, Trader Joe’s (organic veggie section), Fred Meyer (organic section)

Savings programs?! You can get more bang for your buck

Most people’s first thoughts on joining a rewards program are annoying advertisements including multiple emails, flyers and potentially an annoying card that sits in your wallet, hardly being used. However, I’ve found Albertsons ‘Just for U’ rewards program really helpful in saving money, and also for the occasional free grocery item giveaway if I decide to shop at this location. Essentially, you make an account, and each week you can choose which coupons you add to your account. These coupons automatically deduct from the cost of groceries when you enter the phone number you registered at the checkout. Look out for ‘FREE’ groceries each week. I got a free bag of Open Nature Granola for 2 weeks in a row, some Kite Hill yogurt, and have had free bags of coffee on multiple occasions.

I know Wholefoods have rewards for Amazon Prime members. Prime members get an extra 10% off sale items, weekly deals (look for the blue prime member store icon), special deals on online grocery shopping with Amazon-like free delivery.

Moocho App: free grocery money

This app is worth downloading if you shop at Albertsons. For $5 free grocery credit upon downloading the app, use referral code: 293683. Ask to pay with Moocho at the counter and collect 1 Mooch for every $5 you spend. At 20 Mooches, you get $7 worth of grocery credit at the store. The app also connects up with Starbucks and other popular fast food joints, but given the COVID-19 restrictions, these might not be utilized at the moment.

Whether you’re about to run your first 5km race or you’re a seasoned pro, making sure that you’ve got energy on board and avoiding stomach upset is the key to performing your best. From personal experience, I found that it was crucial to train my stomach to be comfortable with eating specific foods 2 hours before the race. This ensures optimal performance and no G.I (gastrointestinal) problems. In terms of making sure we have enough energy and fuel on board, if a decent meal is eaten the night before, and a few hours before the race, the human body has enough energy for up to 80 minutes of endurance activity. This means “bonking”, or in other words, running out of glycogen stores for muscle recruitment is not so much of an issue for shorter races like a 5km or 10km.

What should I eat the night before a 5k race?

A decent meal which includes a quality form of carbohydrates is really important to take on board the night before a race. It ensures our body is stocked with energy to recruit for the race the next day. Since most road races are run in the morning, here are some examples of dinners to eat the night before (tried and tested!) and breakfasts for 2-3 hours before the gun goes off!

Personally, I like to keep it simple stupid. The night before some of my best middle to long-distance track races I eat a very simple take on fried rice:

Long grain low G.I rice, the Dongara kind normally (the most important component, complex carbohydrates)
Tuna/Salmon/Chicken or pork (lean protein, not a big fan of red meat the night before a race)
Shredded carrot, steamed green beans (some simple veggies)
½ a small avocado sliced (Fats)
Topped with soy sauce, a dash of sweet chili sauce and lemon juice + salt/pepper (for flavor!)

For the morning of the race, I like to stick with a mix of simple and complex carbohydrates. We want energy to be easily accessible and be enough to keep you satiated on the start line and throughout the race. For example, I generally eat oats, maple syrup/honey/brown rice syrup, and a banana 2-3 hours before the race. This is my go-to breakfast before some of my major 5 and 10km road races.

½-¾ cup of oats, cooked on the stovetop so they are well done. This decreases digestion time.
1 teaspoon of honey, or maple syrup (slightly more if using the latter option)
Chopped banana on top
Dash of cinnamon

Toast with banana and honey is also a very good option if you’re not a big fan of oats. I like to stick with white bread or sourdough the day of the race, rather than a grain bread or wholemeal/wholewheat, as this can cause stomach upsets.

How long before a 5k should you eat?

If it is an early morning race, I’d recommend a larger meal, and possibly a small dessert of some sort the night before, just before heading to bed. This is because some races have a gun start time around 7 or 8 am, meaning eating 2 hours beforehand requires an early rise, which might not be as convenient for some participants. However, it is recommended if you’re desiring to hit that personal best time, that you plan to eat around 2-3 hours before the race.

For evening races, it is slightly more flexible. Eating a solid, well-balanced breakfast or brunch 8-6 hours out, another meal 4 hours out, and a snack 2 hours out to top up energy stores will ensure you are ready.

It is crucial to train our stomach to become used to the food we intend to eat before we race when in a running context. Before race day, plan to do some of your harder workouts with the same foods on board, sticking to the same eating timings. See it as a race day simulation in a sense! The stomach can even learn to digest food closer to race time. I can now eat porridge an hour before I run, and not experience discomfort.

Should you run the day before a 5k?

This is very much up to the individual and the coach. The best way to test which will work best for you is to try a 20-30 minute very easy jog the day before a 5km specific workout or tempo run. Do the same with taking a rest day the day before either kind of workout also. Track how you feel in a journal or online software for the period in which you carry out this test. This will allow you to gauge whether it’s best for you mentally and physically to either take rest or run the day before the race.

Personally, I have done both. I prefer to take a rest day 2 days before the race and jog 20-30 minutes with 4x 100m strides the day before the race. This is more for mental preparation over anything. No actual fitness gains will be made at this point.

Is it OK to drink coffee before a 5k?

It is absolutely ok to drink coffee before a 5km, or any race or sporting activity for that manner. In most cases, it is actually recommended as it can have a slight performance-enhancing effect if the individual times their ingestion correctly to the event start time and duration. Caffeine can cause an upset stomach, better known as G.I distress for runners if the athlete is not used to coffee when training. However, if the individual is able to take on board coffee, their awareness, alertness, focus can increase and their perception of effort may be decreased. What’s not to love about that? I’m a big fan of coffee before racing.

Here’s an even niftier trick you can consider yourself which I came up with whilst out on a long run. I practice this regularly to get the optimum race-day advantage. As a regular coffee drinker, many would agree that we become slightly immune to the effects of coffee over time. Considering this, I only drink decaffeinated coffee and tea, or no coffee at all, 3 days before a race. Whether it is a placebo or not, I can’t be sure, but I know I definitely feel the caffeine effects when I drink coffee on race day after no coffee for a few days. On the day of the race, if it is an early start time, I take on board 2 shots, and if it is in the evening, up to 3. I’m buzzing and ready to go!

How long before a race should I drink caffeine?

Caffeine has a pretty short-acting effect, so from personal experience, I like to have 1 shot an hour out from the race, and another shot 30 minutes before. I take these in caffeine strips such as Revvies (https://www.revviesenergy.com/) in which each strip is equivalent to one shot of coffee. This reduces any chance of stomach upset which might be experienced if a coffee, particularly one with dairy milk, is ingested too close to the gun time. However, the stomach can also be trained to take caffeine on board close to a race. I can have a black coffee with a dash of milk up to 45 minutes before an event, as long as I ensure I get to the bathroom before the start, this is no issue for me. I’m firing and ready to run fast!

How much should I drink before a 5k?

Water is important for any person undertaking exercise, particularly hard efforts. However the 5km is no marathon in distance, so water doesn’t need to be taken during the race. A large glass of breakfast and small regular sips up until the race start is recommended. I often find people get nervous and sip on too much water before a race, creating a gluggy, uncomfortable feeling in their stomach.

Again, practice this. Make sure the day and night before the race you are on top of your hydration, and you’ll be right to go the next day!