Smart hydration can help your running and the environment! 

Alex O’Shea, also known as The Running Fireman and a member of St Finbarr’s in Cork, shares his advice on how you can adequately hydrate while helping the marathon’s mission to go greener.

You might have already read Alex’s running story on the Pacers page, an experienced marathon runner, where he offers this advice, “Join a club and train with friends if possible. Training builds confidence and improves ability. Set realistic goals. Train in the kit you will run in & practise taking drinks. Don’t overhydrate.”

“Don’t overhydrate”, we followed up with Alex to ask him more about this piece of advice.

Whether an experienced or inexperienced runner, we can sometimes overestimate the amount of water we need to consume during training and during a race. But what happens if we overhydrate and how can we keep track of our intake? Here are some points and tips to consider for your own hydration and to minimise the use of plastic:

• Practise training with a hydration backpack or bottle in a belt so you are used to it for race day
• Refill your bottle at water stations if you need a top-up
• Take small sips when covering a larger distance
• Gulping fluids quickly can cause gastric issues
• Drinking too much water can lead to cramping and can also flush essential salts and minerals from the body
• There will be 16 water stations along the route if needed but you may not need to stop at all of them

It’s important to have a hydration plan in place. It’s not just about the race day, hydration starts a few days before a marathon race and is key for recovery too.

By giving your hydration levels more consideration, you can also help with reducing waste! The marathon is encouraging participants to go green where possible. As well as the initiative of #TreesForTees, you can also help by bringing your own bottle and filling it up with water when you need it at our Refill Ireland station in front of City Hall in the morning and at the finish line, only carrying as much water as you need. This will help with cutting down on the number of plastic bottles used and waste collected. We want you to help us to make the Cork City Marathon the greenest marathon yet!

Alex will take part in this year’s Cork City Marathon in the Sub 3 Hour 15 Minutes Pacing Group.