Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 118, May 2019 | Page 28

OUT OF
THE By BOX
Norrie Williamson
RUNNING DRY
A considerable number of races this year have run out of water at the refreshment stations, leaving runners without water
for significant distances. Being short of water is unacceptable, that is not a debate, but what are some of the factors and
changes happening in the sport, and why has this become an ongoing concern?
In terms of IAAF guidelines, races should provide
1.5 containers of 180ml to 300ml per runner per
station. This effectively requires an organiser to
have a minimum of 750ml per hour for a five-hour
marathoner. In South Africa, the current requirement
of three sachets per runner per table typically provides
a five-hour marathoner with 900ml per hour (assuming
around 110ml per sachet). This does allow for some
use for showering or cooling, but within reason.
Dehydration Issues
Clearly, when insufficient fluid is provided, a runner
will suffer from dehydration, and there are thousands
of references to the effects of dehydration in running.
In many papers, a figure of just 2% dehydration is
linked to a significant loss of performance. There
are also many articles and references to risk of heat
stroke and even death as a result of dehydration, but
these are in fact predominately incorrect.
At the very outset, let’s be absolutely clear that only a
masochistic race organiser would try to make financial
savings from ordering a few thousand less sachets of
water! At around R400 per 1000 water sachets, it is
unlikely to be an item that any organiser would look
to cut back on to make financial savings, whereas
consider some comparable items:
•
A standard 2m fence costs R40, so save 10
panels of fence and you have bought another
1000 sachets.
•
Or take a timing mat off the route and you can
save say R25,000, depending on the system
used and number of runners.
•
Even reducing the Coke and energy drinks can
allow a significant proportional increase in water
volume at a table.
Consider that the total cost of water for the entire
Comrades Marathon may look large at around R1.2-
million, but cutting a couple of thousand sachets on a
28
table can see the whole race spiral into a frenzy of dry
tables and dire consequences. No, water is the very last
thing to be sacrificed by any knowledgeable organiser,
so let’s kill any suggestion that races reduce water to
save money. There have been moves, particularly in the
Western Cape, to reduce the number of water tables,
due to overall water restrictions, but this is an entirely
different matter, and is as much to do with environmental
issues and a required change in runner approach and
ethics. It has zero to do with finances.
Rules to Follow
Of course, there are international rules on the
provision of water in road running events. IAAF rule
240 requires refreshment tables at 5km intervals, and
suggests additional points between this based on
adverse running conditions, fitness of participants,
and the distance of the event.
ASA rule 34.8 stipulates a 3km maximum interval in
mass events. Various provinces have implemented
even tighter restrictions due to adverse conditions,
in particular KZN, where since the mid-1980’s tables
have been required at 2.5km intervals due to heat and
humidity, particularly from November to April. It is only
the drought in the Western Cape in recent years that
initiated a move to 4km intervals, and calls for runners
to bring their own water to races.
ISSUE 118 MAY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
I am fortunate to be based in Durban with one of my
favourite runs a 15km to 20km along the low tide beach
between Blue Lagoon and the harbour mouth. There are
no water points on the beach and I rarely stop other than
to climb through or over the piers. This run, if taken as
a low heart rate fat metabolising pace, is easily handled
without any drinks whatsoever, even with the heat and
humidity. This is what we humans were ‘designed to do’
when hunting down animals in our heritage.
Interestingly, when I feel hot, simply running a few
steps in the water and allowing my shoes to get
wet virtually instantly satisfies the need to drink, as
the brain detects the cool water and counters the
previous signals of heat. The exceptions to this are
those runners who compete while on medication that
provides some form of signal-blocking to the brain.
S
outh Africa has a long history of well-organised
road running events that match the best in
the world, and the country has been at the
forefront of many organisational innovations. So why
now are several well-established events running short
of water? What has changed, or are people trying to
make savings in water at the risk of dry tables?
The research from Professor Tim Noakes is too long
to explain here, but as detailed in his two books,
Waterlogged and Challenging Beliefs, it is now
acknowledged that runners will not die of dehydration,
because the ‘self-preservation’ signals from the brain
will take control and result in the body being slowed,
or even forced to stop, in order to prevent any self-
destructive actions. In fact, Noakes points out that
the risk of heat stroke is greater in a short, intense
race in hot conditions, than it is in a marathon or ultra,
because the intense effort and expenditure of energy
create greater internal heat, with less opportunity to be
dispersed, resulting in the core temperature increasing.