This article was published on February 25th, 2013

Photo Credit: Running Room

An important element to long distance running is hydration. Drinking enough fluids is essential for performance.

“Sweating depletes your body of water and salts,” explains founder and CEO of the Running Room, John Stanton. “The harder you breathe, the more water escapes through your respiratory system. As your body runs low on liquids and you become increasingly dehydrated, your total blood volume drops.”

When blood volume drops, the heart has to work harder and faster to circulate the same amount of blood. This means there is less blood and energy available for your larger running muscles.

“Sweating keeps you cool and must be replace or your performance will be affected,” said John. “Drink water, roughly one cup of water for every 15 minutes of running.” That’s a lot of water to consume over the course of a 42.2km (26mi) marathon course.

Before a long distance run, keep hydrated by keeping water with you all the time. Keep a bottle of water on your desk at work, in your car, and at your bedside. During long runs, wear a hydration belt to carry your water with you.

“Water is one of the best ways to suppress your appetite and cut back on unnecessary calories, increase your energy level, and help you sleep better,” said John. “It can even improve your memory.”

The Running Room has a wide selection of hydration belts from single full-size bottles to smaller water packs. Some hydration belts come with handy pockets to store ID, cell phones, gels and other necessary items needed on long runs.

While sports drinks are effective to replace lost electrolytes, especially after long, hard workouts, often times good old pure drinking water will do just fine.