Camelbak hydration systems for long distance running.

The problem of staying hydrated on long distance runs.

There has been a lot of activity on the forums recently with respect to hydration in the later stage of long distance runs; probably something to do with the Virgin London Marathon 2010 being so close (April 25th). Hydration is a hotly debated topic amongst runners and medical professionals and there is no definite answer to how much water a runner should consume during a long distance run like a marathon or ultra. The best advice is to simply get to know how much water and salts your body needs by structuring your training and getting a feel for your body’s capabilities before a big race. This still doesn’t solve the problem of how to stay hydrated however!

If you are like me, you hate running with heavy water bottles and also have no desire to strategically place water bottles at points along my route before my runs. I especially hate the latter as there is nothing worse than getting to your carefully chosen hiding spot with a dry mouth and a slight blur to your vision, to find your nice big 2 litre bottle of sports drink

Camelbak Fairfax

missing from where you placed it. The rational of you out there will suggest a mix of strategies to overcome this problem such as placing numerous water bottles along the route and carrying emergency rations in the event of unexpected water bottle loss; I however, prefer my runs to be less of a military operation and more of a casual affair, especially when getting out of the door to do those long 15mile runs is a mission without all that extra planning.

Camelbak’s

Instead, I use a Camelbak hydration system. In case you haven’t come across these before, Camelbak’s are essentially a water bottle inside a small rucksack which you suck water from using a tube attachment.
Camelbak’s come in a variety of shapes and sizes. At the last count, the company produces over 50 different ranges each tailored to fit a different sport and athlete type. Finding the right Camelbak is essential for a runner as unlike other sports like cycling, running consists of a large amount of vertical movement as well as horizontal and as such a well fitting Camelbak is essential to ensure that is does not become detached from a runner during a race. Taking this into account Camelbak have created a range of hydration systems that cater for every runner and mixed event athlete whether they be tackling a 1hour road run or a six hour Ultra Marathon.
The capacity of the Camelbak is the main driver behind its size. A larger capacity water bottle such as 2 litre model (CamelBak Octane XCT) will result in an extra 2 kg of weight for you to carry at the beginning of a run, resulting in a significant amount of extra energy exertion over the entirety of the run. For this reason you need to think carefully about the

Camelbak Octane XCT

amount of water you are going to consumer over your run and pick your Camelbak accordingly. This will ensure that you don’t end up carrying either too much or too little water depending on your needs.
For a shorter run where large amounts of water are not necessary but carrying a water bottle in your hand is still an unwanted occurrence then you might think about one of Camelbak’s

Camelbak Delaney Plus

smaller hydration systems such as the Delaney series which is a belt type system that allows you to carry a water bottle in the small of your back. This type of system was the Boston Marathon 2009 runners system of choice as the unit is stable with no risk of shoulder straps coming loose and runners can easily interchange water bottles as necessary throughout the race.

If you are planning on going out on a run where refilling your water bottle just isn’t an option, then you want to look at one of the intermediate capacity Camelbak’s. I have been using the Camelbak WaterBak Black (Decathlon – £34.99) for over six months and prefer it over the Delaney as its uses an inbuilt water bladder of 1.5 litres and i prefer using the shoulder strap tube to get at my water instead of messing with straps as in the Delaney.

Camelbak Review and Feedback

Feedback concerning the Camelbak’s tends to be good and they have become established as the long distance runners choice of water hydration system. One continual small gripe that some runner have however is that the units with shoulder straps can sometimes come loose, especially when filled to capacity as the extra weight causes a large vertical motion when running which can sometimes cause the units to come loose. This is not a major problem however as you can simply just pull down on the straps to tighten them up, something that you may have to do once every couple of miles or so. If this is a problem that worries you then CamelBak produce a range of units that have hip attachments added for extra stability, although most runners do without.

Cheapest Websites for Camelbak Octane XCT, Delaney Plus and Zoid:

Octane XCT (Best for Running or Biking) > Wiggle Online Cycle Shop

Delaney Plus (24oz water bottle belt) > Amazon.co.uk < or > Amazon.com <

Zoid 2L (Winter Specific Camelbak) > Amazon.co.uk < or > Amazon.com <

For more information see the Camelbak website here.