You don’t need me to tell you hydration is important for running. But finding an effective hydration solution – and perfecting your hydration strategy – can be a bit of a challenge. It’s not quite as simple as chugging down litres of water before, during and after every run. And as with all running-related nutrition, there are hundreds of products that claim to be the best hydration supplements for runners, all aimed at keeping your water and salt levels topped up.
I recently spent a few months testing lots of the latest products for Runner’s World and, along with my own trial and error over the years, I’ve found a few products I think are worth a look.
There are a couple of important things to say before we hit up the list though. The first is that most of the products on this list are only really necessary when you’re training to extremes. If you’re running for general fitness rather than doing marathons in the heat, or 100 mile ultras, you can get what you need from your regular diet and good old fashioned water.
Secondly, what works for me might not work for you. But I’ve picked each of these because at some stage in my running it’s offered me a good, practical and effective solution.
Here’s my selection of the most interesting hydration supplements I’ve come across to date…
Best for bespoke hydration: Precision Hydration
Unlike other one size fits all products, Precision Hydration is all about understanding your unique hydration needs. And that starts with how much you sweat and the quantity of salts you lose while you’re running.
We all sweat at different rates and Precision Hydration works on the principle that once you understand your own unique sweat and sodium levels, you can create a tailored hydration regime that’s more optimal than some off-the-shelf products.
The range of electrolyte supplements come in the form of powder drink mixes and more convenient salt tabs. They contain a range of levels of sodium from 1500, 1000, 500, 250 grams. A quick online questionnaire helps to create a bespoke hydration plan for before, during, and after a workout, or a race. You can also take an in-person sweat test that offers an even more accurate recommendation.
I used a combination of 1500 (for pre-hydration), 1000 (for mid-run) and the salt tablets during the scorching hot Half Marathon des Sables Fuerteventura and found them to be really effective. As hydration drinks go, they taste ok too.
Best in a bottle: Fit Water
Fit Water is a hydration solution from the guys at Lucozade. Unlike some of the other well-know products from Lucozade, this pre-bottled drink combines spring water with key electrolytes in the form of calcium, magnesium, chloride and sodium and with no added sugar or calories.
You don’t really need to be shelling out on Fit Water if you’re just doing a weekly parkrun. Or if you’re doing shorter runs in mild climates. When Fit Water can come in handy though is sipped en-route to a race or in your post-race drop bag at a marathon. Mainly because it’s convenient.
Best for value: Elete
Elete is incredibly economical. Just 3ml of this concentrated liquid electrolyte spray, which is derived from inland sea water at Great Lake in Utah, makes a litre of hydrating fluids.
You can mix it into your bottles at home from a larger container or there’s also a handy mini pocket dispenser that makes it easier to add it to bottles on the move in training runs, or during longer races.
If you don’t mind a bitter taste you can also spray it directly into your mouth for a top up of ionically charged essential salts,
It contains magnesium, sodium, chloride, potassium and zinc (which aids in energy conversion). It comes with guidelines on how much of the solution to add to different quantities of water and I really liked the fact you can tweak that to meet the needs of almost any run, however you see fit.
Best for portability: Totum Sport
Totum isn’t your average electrolyte. Each easy open sachet packs a whopping 78 essential salts and minerals that have been harvested from beneath plankton blooms in nutrient-dense areas of the ocean.
Don’t expect a delicious taste sensation, this is a salty little sachet but that’s a fair trade for a superbly portable balanced combination of minerals that do more than just help with hydration.
Sold in boxes of individual sachets, the supplement is designed to be taken directly from its packaging without mixing with water. The makers recommend it should be taken on an empty stomach before a workout, and then one sachet should be consumed for every hour of a workout, and then a final one when finished.
Best in Tab Form: Saltstick Fastchews
Each two-table single serving of Saltstick Fastchews contain 100 mg of sodium, 10 mg of calcium, 6 mg magnesium and 30 mg potassium to help replenish these essential electrolytes lost when sweating. And really importantly, they taste good.
A bit like a fizzy Refresher sweet, you actually look forward to eating these during longer ultras and that’s big bonus. You also don’t need don’t water to take them and they come in a couple of flavours that I tend to mix up in my race belt for a bit of extra variety.
