Fluid Replacement and Performance During the Marathon
Abstract
The primary purpose of this review is to relate a universal strategy for replacing fluids to optimise marathon performance. A secondary purpose is to examine common 'matters of debate' that may modify fluid needs to include the importance of realistic convective air flow, metabolic water production and waters of association with glycogen. The metabolic demands of marathon running can result in substantial sweat losses and levels of dehydration consistent with compromised endurance performance. Recommendations are provided to individualise fluid intakes with the goal of preventing excessive dehydration (>2% body mass) as well as weight gain. The minor importance of 'matters of debate' to fluid replacement is also discussed.
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Abstaining from fluid resulted in an average dehydration of 3.3% and 5.3% in cool and warm conditions, respectively.
“Furthermore, abstaining from fluid resulted in an average dehydration of 3.3 and 5.3%, respectively [78].”
From International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: nutritional considerations for single-stage ultra-marathon training and racing (2019) · cites this paper as [78]
Over longer training distances (marathon), high-level runners exhibited a body weight loss of 0.3% and 1.7% in cool and warm conditions, respectively, even when consuming fluid at 1 L·h−1.
“Over longer training distances (marathon), high-level runners exhibited a body weight loss of 0.3 and 1.7%, in cool and warm conditions, respectively, even when consuming fluid at a rate of 1 L·h− 1 [78].”
From International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: nutritional considerations for single-stage ultra-marathon training and racing (2019) · cites this paper as [78]
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- Authors
- Cheuvront, S. N., Montain, S. J., & Sawka, M. N.
- Affiliations
- U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cheuvront, Samuel N
- Venue
- Sports Medicine
- Published
- 2007
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 353-357
- ISSN
- 0112-1642 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1998398387
- Cited by
- 61
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Thermoregulation and physiological responses
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- marathon running, fluid replacement, dehydration, sweat loss, endurance performance, metabolic water, convective air flow, weight gain
- MeSH terms
- Physical Exertion, Fluid Therapy, Humans, Running, Task Performance and Analysis, United States
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