This thread is becoming stuck in a virtual loop now

All I have been advocating is that runners in the hills should drink when they’re thirsty. And if they don’t want to drink when they’re thirsty, that’s perfectly fine by me. Every half decent article on the same subject says don’t drink to excess but drink when you’re thirsty. I just can’t figure out why anyone would want to ‘debate’ that? And what’s the hardship in carrying a bottle of water just in case?

That said I do think that carrying too much water in a bladder is equally barmy – I made the mistake of carrying a full water bladder on a boiling hot day and, due to the extra weight, the need to carry the bladder and all that water directly correlated to the carrying of the bladder and all that water in the first place, with water sweating out of me as fast as I could drink it.

Mike T has however suggested (recommended even) that there is no need to drink anything at all in a road marathon where the temperature is less than 20 degrees because your water needs are produced internally. Such blanket advice even for road marathon runners seems a bit reckless to me, given that a road marathon could take 2.5 hours for some and 7 hours for others. The key point though is that running a road marathon where there are loads of water stops isn’t taking much of a risk in the first place, given that you can stop and drink if need be. Running in the hills on the other hand, especially on your own, requires a bit more contingency planning. That is all.