Runners usually know to slow down or run indoors when the temperature and humidity are high but, when it comes to running races in hot weather, sometimes they’ll get competitive and ignore some of the common sense advice about running in the heat.
If you’re going to be running a race in hot weather, here’s how to play it smart and avoid trouble:
1. Stay well-hydrated leading up the race.
Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water in the days leading up to the race. Do a urine check – if it’s light yellow, like lemonade, you know that you’re well-hydrated. If it’s dark yellow, keep drinking water.
2. Scale back your race goals.
Don’t try to beat the heat. Pushing too hard despite the heat is one of the biggest causes of heat-related illnesses. Don’t expect to beat your PR or run a predicted race time that might be possible in better conditions. You’ll need to adjust your race plan based on the conditions.
3. Get extra salt.
Eat some salty foods, like pretzels, or sprinkle some salt on your food, in the days leading up to your race. Right before the race, take a packet of salt (from a fast-food restaurant) with water. If you’ll be racing for more than two hours, carry another one with you and take it about halfway through your race.
4. Don’t drink way more than you need during the race.
When it’s hot, some racers get so concerned about avoiding dehydration that they drink constantly. Drinking too much water can lead to a dangerous condition called hyponatremia, or low blood sodium concentration.
Drink when your mouth is dry and you feel thirsty, or no more than 8 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes. This advice is especially important for back-of-the-packers and race walkers, who tend to suffer from hyponatremia more frequently than runners who are on the race course for a shorter amount of time.
5. Drink a pre-race slushie.
An exercise researcher in New Zealand found that drinking a syrup-flavored ice slushie before running on a treadmill extended runners’ endurance by an average of 10 minutes.
It’s not exactly clear why slushies had that effect, but one possible explanation is that the slushies lowered the runners’ body temperature before they started running, allowing them to run longer before they felt the effects of the heat.
The time difference was not huge, so a pre-race slushie won’t keep you going through an entire marathon. But it could be enough to give you a little extra boost in the first several miles of a long race or the entire distance of a shorter one, like a 5K.
6. Wet down your head and upper body.
If you’re overheating, splash water on your head and body to cool down quickly. Some races even have spray stations that you can run through. Just be careful about getting too wet because soaked clothes can be heavy and wet socks can lead to foot blisters.
7. Seek help if you don’t feel right.
If you’re feeling symptoms of a heat-related illness — such as lightheadness, goosebumps, nausea, chills – stop at a medical station along the race course or at the finish line. Don’t try to be tough and think you should just keep pushing through it.
These are good tips. I write a lot about running in the heat and humidity because I live in Miami and it’s our normal. If you are traveling to a place where the weather is different I like to get advice from runners who are local. Different situations require different steps. For example when it’s very humid like in Miami and you have a slower evaporative cooling effect we drink more water and it becomes more important that the fluid we drink is cool liquid. We use a lot of insulated water bottles. I have only done one long race where it was hot and dry which is the opposite of my regular conditions and let me just say that my hydration strategy was not effective. I could have listened to a lot more local advice.
Very good points! During races, the fluids at water stops is not always cold, so insulated water bottles are definitely a good idea.
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