Non Elite Strategies for Drinking During Race?

[Steve P]

I want to have a good race at St. George this year, so tonight I tried a practice session of drinking from cups (like they have in races). I wanted to keep my slowdown/stoppage to a minimum, but it was more challenging than it sounds. I couldn't drink well while running. I've heard you can make a V with the cup, but that was challenging to drink from too.

So, if you're not elite (and thus can't put out bottles) and don't want to carry your own bottles, what do you do? Is it just a matter of practice? Or do you stop and drink? Or slow down a lot? If it's Gatorade, do you just accept that you're going to get sticky hands and face?

I'm just trying to prepare myself so it won't be stressful during the race.

[jtshad]

It is really and individual thing on how you best take the hydration from the cups.  I just grab the cup (on the run) and through it back...some goes down my throat and some down my shirt.  I have accepted the fact that I will get wet and a bit sticky on the run.  I have tried the V or pinching the cup and that just ends up forcing the liquid up my nose. 

For practical purposes, walking through the water stops is not a bad idea either.  You won't lose much time, can get better hydration (just don't overhydrate) and get a slight break (which can sometimes be hard to get restarted from later in the race though). 

[Michelle Lowry]

I wouldn't walk through the stations, but slow down enough to swallow at least once or twice per station, and definitely accept higher than average stickiness   I am bad with v-ing the cup too.

[Dustin Ence]

I'm with Jeff I think it is better to slow down and get the proper amount of fluids (but don't over-hydrate).  If you aren't hydrated properly, you might crush and then end up losing more time than you gained by flying through the aid station.  I try to avoid coming to a complete stop, but I do slow down enough so that I can drink without making a huge mess.  I tend to make more of a mess with my gels, than with the drinks.

[Sasha Pachev]

There are relatively few races where elites get their own bottles placed on the course. The only one in Utah is St. George. In every other race if we want bottles we have to do tricks - hide them the night before on the course, or find a friend that will bring them to us at certain locations. Sometimes it is not worth the hassle, so elites know just as much about drinking on the fly out of a cup as the slower runners. Perhaps even more because they have to do it at a much faster pace. You slow down to 6:10 to drink your Gatorade for 10 seconds, and, behold, your pack is gone bye-bye. This could cost you a minute on a windy day.

My tricks are to hold it with a straight arm and to drink in small sips. You can run with a cup for a minute without spilling too much even if you are as clumsy as me. If I remember right, once a waiter ran a mile with a full glass of water on the tray in 5:36 without spilling anything. So maybe what you could do is practice running with a cup with minimal spilling.

[Paul Petersen]

I'm not very good at taking liquids, relative to my peers. I usually slow down a little bit, and then have to catch up. I usually get gatorade all over me, but then take water at the end of the station to wash the gatorade off. :-) In the past, I have even walked through aid stations. It's not a big deal, and I'd rather slow down or even walk than not get enough liquid. Forming a "v" with the cup certainly helps, and taking liquid at every station also helps if you tend to spill a lot. Practice also helps. You can practice talking water cups on a track if you have a friend or spouse help you. Sounds kind of silly, but it will work.

[Josse]

I use to cut straws to fit in one of my pockets, I would cut about five so I wouldn't have to keep them every time.  This is great for not having to slow down and getting in enough water/gatorade and you don't choke on the fluids.  I can drink pretty well now so I don't do it anymore but is a great way to get in fluids.

[dave rockness]

Last Fall, I officially bq'd for the first time (by 5 minutes).  I'm a bigger runner, so fluids every 2 miles are vital for my "success".  My strategy was to come to a complete stop and swig down the entire cup.  I'd keep an eye on a person close to me and speed up slightly for a couple hundred yards until I caught up with them again and then would resume my marathon pace.  May have lost 3-5 seconds at each stop, but for me it was definitely worth the trade-off.  Interestly, when I did this in Boston, I was shouldered in the back 3x by irritated runners...not so sure the ethics on this.  Always took the last cup and tried to stay to the side, but couldn't always find space to get completely over and got the message I was slowing people down. 

[David S]

I have had success with grabbing 2 - 3 cups - one at a time as I run with my right hand, and pass them to my left hand.  Using my fingers I will hold the cups from the top.  My fingers will be in the water when I do this.  Then as I run I will take the cups back into my right hand and drink from them.  Because I have 3 cups it is OK if I lose some water from each.  It is just something I tried and it worked for me. 

At the half-marathon in the Netherlands that I ran the runners were handed water in small pliable containers - some what like CapriSuns that kids drink.  The water containers had a tear away tab at the top with a built in valve.  To get the water out one had to squeeze the bag.  And when one released the pressure the water stopped.  This was great as there was no air in the bag and hence, no jiggling of water as one would find with a bottle.  I was able to run with one of these in each hand and take sips as I went.  I wish they would offer something like this over here in the States.

[Joe Furse]

I don't know if when you say Ving the cup you mean this, but I totally crush the top flat except for one corner which acts like a straw sort of.  Works pretty well after a couple of practice tries.

[Tony]

in my first half marathon in USA I just grabbed cups and drank it down. Spilled some, but that was ok.  In my second half marathon in Italy, most of the aid stations were handing out full bottles of water or sports drink, That was niiiice. Only a few were in cups. Also sponging stations. The definitely indulged the runners way more than needed for a half marathon for most runners, IMO, but it was nice to have that much money spent on it. Entry fee was only 20 Euros too, and between all the swag we got for finishing, and free lunch, gelato, snacks and sports drink bottles, it was probably costing them 30 or 40 Euros per person just on the products given out. Anyways, back to your question.  IMO, just don't worry about it. Grab two cups if you spill a lot and need a lot. If you want to use a bottle, stash the night before somewhere, or have a friend or family member meet you at certain spots... or run the Bologna half marathon where everyone gets a bottle!

[Steve P]

I wanted to follow up on what worked for me in my recent marathon. I grabbed a cup (usually from one of the middle volunteers so I wouldn't have to compete so much for it), ran a few steps so I could make sure I wasn't in someone else's way, slowed to a walk (or jog) for 2-3 steps, gulped down one or two swallows, and ran again. It felt pretty natural and didn't slow me down much at all.