Do you take water on a two hour (18-20mi) run?

I could run without water for two hours, but in my experience you're more likely to feel bad after a long run if you don't drink (enough). Tried running with a belt, kind of hate it. Now I carry some cash and plan my route so that I pass by a convenience store around midpoint. A bottle of gatorade or something similar is perfect for me.

Seems like a stretch not to take water. My cutoff is 90 minutes. If I do a fast 15 miles like I did today, I can get away with no water, but that is pretty much the limit for me. So for an easy 18-20 mile run, I'm definitely taking a run bottle. You have nothing to prove. Hydrating well aids in your recovery.

I don't, but I should.

Did 2:15 today, only 70-75° but sunny. Legs were feeling shot on some hills near the end of the run. Then I happened upon a drinking fountain about 15 mins from the end, and felt like a new runner the rest of the way.

I'll run for 2 hours without water if it's fairly cool (below 55 F) and I'm not going too hard. If it's warmer than that, or if I want to go fairly hard, I'll usually arrange my route to pass by a drinking fountain (they do still exist in a few places) at least once and often two or three times. I have never tried running with a water belt or carrying a bottle, feeling sure that it would bother me seriously. I have also sometimes hidden a water bottle somewhere on the course and then passed by it a few times during the run.

If it's not cool, or if I'm going hard, I'd say 90 minutes without water is about the maximum.

Never. I almost never drink during a run.

I almost never stopped for water and or have never carried a water bottle or anything. When I lived in Florida, 90 minute to 2 hour runs were OK, preparing for Boston in Feb., March, April, it was still not bad. For the summer I just never ran that far.

easy 2 hr long run water? wrote:

Do you take water on an easy 18-20 mile run? I usually don't but was wondering if there is any benefit.

Not sure but how are your kidneys?

Back when I did such things, I'd run to a local high school for a 2 hour run on the track which for me was 16 miles (plus 2 to 4 miles of commute). I usually did this at about 5 in the morning so it was cool (I mean the temperature). Even with that, I checked my weight once and I lost 5 pounds. I also had a typical road run that was 17 to 18 miles but that had 5 potential stops for water on the way. Try checking your weight and see how much you are losing. It is all due to water.

Typically anything an hour up to 2 hours, I'll bring a 20oz. handheld. Partially to practice even hydration for racing, part just so I keep up with overall hydration for the day.

HRE wrote:

Never. I almost never drink during a run.

Did you drink water when you raced marathons?

No. It doesn't matter what the temperature is; training with water during a run is for weak minds.

I don't need water to complete most of my runs... but I always bring a small handheld with me on every run over an hour. I never understood the benefit of running while dehydrated.

I feel like i recover better afterward if i take water

Yes, I take water on anything over 10 miles. Check out the Simple Hydration bottle, designed to tuck into the waist band of your shorts. Really nice to not have to deal with a handheld.

` wrote:

HRE wrote:

Never. I almost never drink during a run.

Did you drink water when you raced marathons?

No. The one exception was Boston '76 when the temperature was in the 90s and I regretted it. I went from 78th place at 20 miles to 253rd, I think, because I got diarrhea at 20 miles and struggled the rest of the way. I couldn't get myself to do a DeCastella and just let it fly. The idea of riding the subway back to my motel with shorts full of poop was pretty repulsive. I stopped at a couple service station toilets. That's the only time something like that happened to me that late in a race and I could only blame it on drinking.

I forgot my water on a 20-miler once and thought I would be fine. I think it took me 2 weeks to fully recover from that run. Dehydration slows recovery. If life was perfect, I would have a few ounces of water every mile during every run.

I definitely drink water if I can on a run that long. It's not worth the added stress on your body. You risk fatigue and injury. Your body isn't going to make any big adaptation to water scarcity that will make it worthwhile to dehydrate yourself.

So you didn't take in any energy gel as well?

You're one tough cookie!

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