5 Hydration Hacks for Runners Who Hate Drinking Water

Do you hate drinking water?

Me too.

That’s why I use these 5 helpful hydration hacks for runners!

Without them, I’d never drink my required daily water.

I went from drinking maybe 20oz a day (for yearsss) to drinking 40-60oz per day consistently.

Here is how I did it, and why drinking enough water is important for everyone (but especially for runners).

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Why is Hydration Important?

Do any of these symptoms sound fun to you?

• Headaches
• Dry skin or acne
• Decreased energy
• Decreased running capability
• Fuzzy head feeling
• Kidney stones

No. They sound terrible. Right?

Well those are some examples of the side effects of dehydration.

So why is drinking enough water important?

Human bodies need water to function. We are made up of over 60% water.

Being hydrated keeps our joints lubricated, helps oxygen flow, keeps our organs functioning and so much more.

But without getting all medical or technical (because that’s boring) – water is pretty important to how we feel too. Hydration improves skin. It speeds up our metabolism. It keeps you….er….regular.

So imagine what happens to us when we don’t properly replenish water? Those yucky side effects I listed above (and more).

That’s why hydration hacks for runners (and anyone!) are important to learn.

Why Should Runners Hydrate Well?

As a runner, you sweat.

Unless you are some magical sweat-less creature, and in that case, good for you bud, we’re all jealous.

So whatever amount of water non-runners need to consume each day, you need a bit more (plus electrolytes, but that’s a whole other topic).

Runners need the right nutrition and drinking water to replenish is a huge part of that. Read The Ultimate Guide to Nutrition for Runners  for more info.

How Much Water Do I Really Need to Drink?

To be honest, there are different recommendations out there.

I’m not a doctor (so if you have questions about your daily water intake, ask your doctor) but the advice I’ve seen most frequently over the years is this simple rule:

Divide you body weight in half, and that’s the ounces of water you need to consume each day.

So if you weight 140lbs, you need to drink 70 ounces of water each day.

I like to divide the number of ounces by waking hours (so say you wake up at 7am and go to bed at 11pm, that’s 16 waking hours). Though I usually exclude the last 2 hours before bed because I hate having to get up 10 times to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Personal preference though, do what works for you.

So if I have 14 waking hours to drink 70 ounces, that’s about 5 ounces each hour.

That sounds SO approachable, right? Way better than imagining drinking 70 ounces!

AND NOW: The 5 Hydration Hacks You NEED

It’s hard to drink the amount of water required each day.

That’s why we compiled a list of our favorite hydration hacks for runners to help each runner drink the right amount of water each day.

1.) Start Your Day with a Glass of Water

Evenly spacing out your water consumption throughout the day helps.

If you hate drinking water, you’re definitely not going to want to drink a ton in one sitting so try drinking throughout the day instead.

Sneak in a glass the minute you wake up.

I drink 8oz while the coffee brews.

2.)  Get a Good Water Bottle & Keep it With You All Day

Buy a solid, easy-to-carry water bottle that insulates well and throw some ice cubes in and go.

I find myself sipping water throughout the day when the bottle is conveniently with me at all times.

Also, I don’t know about you but I don’t like drinking lukewarm water.

So how do you combat that?

Buy a water bottle with great insulation, like this Swig Savvy bottle that I use. This bottle has gone on long hikes with me, been carried along to the beach and sat with me all day at my desk and it does an amazing job of keeping water cold.

Don’t buy a cheap bottle or the ice will melt too quickly. Or it might not survive the wear and tear of carrying it around all day.

It’s worth a couple extra bucks to invest in a good quality bottle if you really want to make hydration a habit.

3.) Flavor Your Water (to trick your tastebuds)

Water is kinda boring. Let’s be honest.

That’s why a lot of people hate drinking water.

How can you fix that problem? Make your water taste exciting!

Here are some ideas:

• Fruit-Infused Water – add flavor (and no calories) to water with fruit! There are so many combinations to try, this option will never get old.
  • See a nice rundown of ingredients for fruit-infused water, why each is beneficial to your health, and some recipes, in this helpful article.
  • My favorite fruit-infused combinations are:
    • Watermelon and Cucumber (add mint if you want to get crazy)
    • Pineapple and Blueberries
    • Lemon and Lime, or Lemon and Cucumber
• NUUN Hydration tablets – need some extra electrolytes after a long run but don’t want sugary sports drinks? I recently tried NUUN hydration tablets (you add them to water like alka seltzer) after a 9 mile run and it was delicious and hydrating. Each pack has 10 tablets (buy a single NUUN pack for under $10 on Amazon or get 4 packs for around $23)

• Stur Liquid Water Enhancer – After doing some research, Stur bubbled to the top of the list as an all-natural water flavoring option because it doesn’t have crappy chemicals. Steer clear of some of the big name brands on this one (I was appalled to see some of the awful ingredients on their labels!). Get Stur Liquid Water Enhancer for under $5 on Amazon in delicious flavors like Coconut Pineapple, Strawberry Watermelon, Lemonade and more.

4.) Set Reminders

Pretty much everyone has a smart phone these days.

Put it to good use and set reminders every hour to drink water. I love asking Siri to set a reminder for me, it’s so easy!

This works especially well if you’re sitting at a desk all day (like me). Your phone is next to you anyway (am I right?) so a quick reminder to drink water doesn’t disrupt much.

Use this method all day if you need to, or just during times where you think you need extra help remembering to drink water.

Doing something consistently creates a habit. Reminders can be used until a habit is created…then you may not need them anymore (nice job if you get to this point!).

5.) Get Smart – Smart Phone Tracking, That Is

We track everything with our phones these days, so why not water too?

There are a few different options here.

Option 1: Use a Fitness Tracker App or Nutrition App

Already use a fitness tracker like FitBit? Then why not use the water-tracking functionality too?

This screenshot is of my FitBit app – It lets you input water in 8oz, 16oz or 24oz (1 bottle) increments so it’s quick and easy to record a completed glass.

You’ll enjoy seeing progress throughout the day, plus it helps you keep count of your ounces.

This is an easy hydration hack for runners because you’re probably already using a fitness and/or nutrition app so this step is super easy to add into your day!

Option 2: Use a “Coach” App to Help You

Fun fact – there are tons of apps that combine water tracking and “coaching” (aka reminding you to drink) into one free app.

Some examples (with high ratings) include:

• Hydro Coach
• Water Drink Reminder
• Water Time Pro

Use this if you aren’t already using a fitness or nutrition tracker. Or if you want the reminding and tracking to be combined together (and don’t want to set reminders yourself).

Option 3: Get a Smart Water Bottle (the extra easy hack!)

Not surprisingly, there is an automated way to track water consumption without ever manually inputting anything.

The Hidrate Spark 2.0 smart water bottle is pretty darn cool.

It’s only about $55 and automatically tracks your water consumption and syncs it to your phone via bluetooth.

It also glows to remind you to drink water – which is less “in your face” than setting an alarm.

So there you go, 5 solid hydration hacks for runners!

What are your favorite hydration hacks to hydrate properly? What works best for you? Share with us in the comments!

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