The best drink for running depends on the run's duration and intensity: water is great for shorter runs, while sports drinks (with carbs/electrolytes) or even milk/smoothies are better for longer efforts, fueling muscles and replacing lost salts, with choices like coconut water also offering natural hydration.
Best hydration drinks for runners
Water: For runs up to 60 minutes, in all but the hottest conditions, neat H2O has everything you need. Electrolyte powders: Use these for longer runs, higher intensity sessions and hotter conditions where rapid hydration is your number one need.
Caffeine has been shown to improve aerobic performance, and taurine and other performance enhancers in red bull that are well studied show similar results. Also eat a little bit of salt and stay hydrated with water.
During prolonged endurance events, our carbohydrate stores (like glycogen in our muscles) are depleted, and simple sugars, which are easy to digest and provide quick energy, become vital. Coke contains these simple sugars and can provide us with a quick energy boost.
Energy drinks: If you're not a fan of coffee or simply want to mix things up, energy drinks are a good choice. Electrolyte drinks: During your run, you'll lose electrolytes with sweat, so you might want to get ahead of this with an electrolyte drink.
The 80/20 rule in running is a training principle suggesting you should spend 80% of your training time at an easy, conversational pace (low intensity) and only 20% at a harder, more intense effort (high intensity), like tempo runs or intervals, to build aerobic fitness, improve performance, and prevent burnout. Developed by exercise physiologist Stephen Seiler, it combats the common mistake of running too many days in a moderate "gray zone," which hinders adaptation, and helps runners build a stronger aerobic base to support faster speeds.
Water is enough for most 5K training runs under an hour. If you're running longer, in hot/humid weather or sweat heavily, include a drink with electrolytes to replace sodium and other minerals.
What Should Runners Avoid On Runs?
Only the cola with 150 mg of caffeine was able to dramatically boost blood levels of free fatty acids (a 22-per cent increase), an effect which some sports scientists have suggested would enhance endurance performance (the fatty acids might serve as a rich lode of energy as muscle-glycogen stores become depleted).
There's no single "number one" unhealthiest soda, as different ones rank poorly for different reasons (sugar, acidity, dyes), but Mountain Dew, Fanta Grape, and orange sodas often top lists due to high sugar, potent citric acid for enamel erosion, and potentially carcinogenic artificial dyes (like Red 40), making them particularly damaging for teeth and overall health, notes this article from Eat This, Not That! and this article from Fowler Orthodontics. Dark sodas (like Coke/Pepsi) are also very unhealthy due to sugar, caffeine, and caramel coloring, while clear sodas (Sprite/7Up) are generally less harmful but still packed with sugar, says this article from MEL Magazine.
A guideline I like to follow is taking in 3 or 4 long sips of water every 15 or so minutes. On long runs, I'll often fill my hydration pack with water that has a hydration tab mixed in it, called Nuun, which has added electrolytes, like sodium.
Ideally, eat a small, easily digestible snack 30 minutes to an hour before running. This allows your body to absorb the nutrients and provides a readily available energy source without causing discomfort during your run.
Drinks
HIGH5 Energy Drink is a blend of maltodextrin (glucose) and fructose in a scientifically proven ratio of 2:1 designed for fuelling athletes during sport. The benefit of 2:1 Fructose is that the maximum rate at which your body can absorb carbohydrate is increased from 60g per hour to 90g per hour.
What to Eat During Long Runs
The 80/20 rule is simple. It states that you should spend 80% of your training time running at an easy, conversational pace, and the other 20% at a moderate to hard intensity.
The 70/30 rule in fitness suggests that 70% of your physical results (especially weight loss and body composition) come from nutrition and diet, while only 30% comes from exercise (gym workouts), emphasizing that what you eat is far more crucial for changing your physique than just working out, though both are important for overall health and muscle building. It highlights that while the gym breaks down muscles (the 30% effort), the kitchen (the 70%) provides the essential fuel, protein, and rest for them to repair and grow stronger.
Find Your Hydration Routine
The best drink before a workout depends on your goals, intensity, and timing. A short jog may call for water, while a long summer run might need electrolytes and a pre-workout supplement like 2before for extra support. Strength training could benefit from protein plus blackcurrant powder.
Have a good source of carbs paired with protein, making sure the meal focuses on a healthy carb source. If it's been more than three to four hours since you've eaten, a carbohydrate-rich snack a half-hour before running can ensure you have adequate glucose available before you head out.
The 1-2-3 drinking rule is a guideline for moderation: 1 drink per hour, no more than 2 drinks per occasion, and at least 3 alcohol-free days each week, helping to pace consumption and stay within safer limits. It emphasizes pacing alcohol intake with water and food, knowing standard drink sizes (12oz beer, 5oz wine, 1.5oz spirits), and avoiding daily drinking to reduce health risks, though some health guidance suggests even lower limits.
You've all heard the adage, "Running is 90 percent mental and the rest is physical." Despite this advice, runners tend to spend much more time preparing physically than they do mentally.
The 80/20 rule in running means doing 80% of your weekly training at a low, easy, conversational pace (Zone 1/2) to build your aerobic base, and only 20% at a higher, harder intensity (Zone 3/4/5) for speed work, helping you improve performance, avoid overtraining, and build endurance for races like the 5k by ensuring you recover properly for harder efforts. It's about balancing easy mileage with quality intensity, not necessarily time or distance, but the number of hard sessions versus easy ones, and is proven effective even for elite runners.
Opt for easily digestible snacks: Within an hour of running, have a light, high-carb pre-race snack like a banana, granola bar, or toast with jam. Gel up: For longer races, energy gels, chews or sports beans can fuel you during the run. Take one every 30–45 minutes to keep you energised in the final miles.
Beans, broccoli, and berries: remember those three B's as you don't want to eat them just before a run or a workout. The same goes for apples, lentils, anything whole grain, and other brassica vegetables (Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale). These are some of the top foods that runners should avoid.