If you are training this summer for REVEL Big Cottonwood or Canyon City, or are maintaining your base mileage for REVEL Mt Charleston or Rockies, you are dealing with training in the summer heat.

There are many common tips to help runners train during hot summer months: wearing cooler, moisture wicking garments; running in early morning or late evening hours; and finding shaded areas to run.

But there are two important tips that runners often overlook when training in the heart: proper hydration, and electrolyte replacement.

Running in the heat means dehydration and loss of electrolytes, both of which can have moderate to severe impact on your performance. In order to continue training in the summer without suffering the potentially debilitating effects of dehydration and electrolyte loss, it helps to understand how and why heat, dehydration, and electrolyte loss affect your running.

Heat, Running, and Dehydration

During exercise, heat dispersion is your body’s way of keeping you cool by increasing blood flow to the skin for conductive cooling. Meanwhile, your muscles are like small furnaces that produce heat when you convert fuel to energy while running. Your brain detects this rise in body temperature, and triggers your body’s sweat glands for evaporative cooling. The water that helps cool you down - sweat - comes mostly from the blood, so the end result is decreased blood volume as you dehydrate. In lay, non-medical terms, the loss of water results in “thicker” blood.

At the same time, your muscles need oxygen to keep working. The need for oxygen means a need for a continued flow of blood to the muscles.

Putting all this together, what you end up with is a situation where your blood is getting “thicker” as you sweat, meaning it is less efficient at flowing to the skin and muscles. Your body is less able to cool itself by conductive cooling, and is less efficient at delivering oxygen to the working muscles.

So how do heat and humidity affect all of this? A hot day triggers more sweating. A humid day means your evaporative cooling system is not working very efficiently, because moisture in the air suppresses the evaporation of sweat on your skin. You are left with a situation where your body finds it harder to meet the demands being placed upon it. Your muscles need oxygen-filled blood in order to keep you running; your skin needs blood to help keep the body cool; and in the meantime dehydration from sweating means your blood is less and less capable of performing both tasks.

Furthermore, your body responds to decreased blood volume by decreasing blood flow and suppressing sweat in order to conserve bodily fluids. In turn, your muscles simply cannot perform well without adequate oxygen, your sweating declines, and your body temperature can rise to dangerous levels.

Even if you are able to continue running in the heat, research indicates that most people - not just runners - are in a constant state of dehydration. With regular exercise in the heat, that dehydration is worsened. In turn, your overall performance as a runner suffers. You might feel sluggish, suffer from headaches and nausea, lower GI problems, rapid pulse, chills, and muscle cramps. These symptoms can last for days, not just during or immediately after a run.

Over the course of several days, this constant dehydration, inadequate rehydration, and subsequent chronic dehydration, can lead to poor training and very difficult runs.

Pre-hydration and Rehydration

“Dehydration” simply means “water loss.” It’s going to happen when you run. The important thing to remember is that no matter how much you drink during a summer run, it can be extremely difficult to keep up with the amount of lost fluid. For every pound of water lost during exercise, you need at least 16 ounces of fluid replacement - and that is the minimum.

Of course, most runners drink from coolers, drinking fountains or their own water bottles immediately after or during runs to quench thirst. That is fine, but do not forego a rehydration plan just because you chugged down a full bottle of water or sports drink immediately after a run. First quench your thirst, then slowly rehydrate over the course of several hours.

You can counter the effects of the dehydration by “pre-hydrating” before a run, stopping to drink at regular intervals during a run, and then rehydrating after a run.

Before you run, “pre-hydrating” is the specific act of preparing yourself for exercise and the normal dehydration that accompanies exercise. At a minimum, drink 8-12 cups of water throughout the day, especially during summer months. At least one hour before a run, drink 12-16 ounces of water.

During a run, drink 6-8 ounces every 15 minutes, even if you are not thirsty.

After you run, it can take anywhere from 24-48 hours to completely rehydrate. Remember that your body is only going to absorb 24-28 ounces of water every hour after exercise. If you have lost 2, 3, 4 or more pounds of sweat during a workout, it will take several hours just to absorb that much water, assuming that you drink enough to catch up. Even then, you will begin to lose some of that fluid through digestion, so you’ve got to continue drinking regularly for many hours after exercise.

The Importance of Electrolytes

Electrolytes are minerals in your bodily fluids that carry electrical charges. They exist in your blood, inside the cells, and in the fluid surrounding the cells. Your nerve cells and muscle cells use electrolytes to carry electrical impulses. Thus, when your brain sends an “electronic signal” to your muscles to contract or relax, the electrolytes carry that signal from the nerves to the muscle cells.

Two of the major electrolytes in the human body – sodium and potassium – are critical for muscle functions, but are lost through exercise and sweat. Together, these two electrolytes perform essential functions for the contraction and relaxation of muscles. With heavy fluid loss through sweating, the loss of electrolytes can result in cramping. As dehydration continues, entire muscle groups become fatigued and begin to fail.

Replacement of electrolytes is important when training in hot weather. The most common way that runners replace electrolytes during exercise is by consuming sports drinks. Also, some gels and electrolyte tablets typically have very high quantities of sodium and potassium. There is no single answer to the questions of how to replace electrolytes, and when. Sweat rates and electrolyte loss-rates are different from person to person. It is a process of trial and error, which means you should experiment with electrolyte replacement techniques to find the ones that work best for you.

Summary

There is no question that running in summer months will mean slower overall paces, tougher finishes to your workouts, and a lot of fatigue associated with dehydration. You should expect to find it harder to maintain your training paces and overall mileage during hot weather. That’s perfectly normal.

However, you can improve your training by adhering to a hydration plan that includes pre-workout hydration and post-workout rehydration. You are asking a lot of your body when you run in hot summer weather. Likewise, your body will be asking a lot from you (hydration), and it is important to listen to your body.

Similarly, hydration does not simply mean water. You will lose significant amounts of electrolytes when you train day after day, week after week, in hot weather. Replacing lost electrolytes is critical to maintaining your body’s ability to perform under the demands of training in summer months.

With proper hydration and electrolyte replacement, you will be better able to maintain your training regimen as your work your way towards an awesome race day at your REVEL events!

If you haven't already, make sure you register by 11:59 PM TOMORROW to save $10 before the price increase. You don't want to miss this fast and beautiful marathon & half! We'll see you on Saturday, September 10, 2016.

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An absolutely beautiful, Rocky Mountain sunrise greeted thousands of runners at the REVEL Rockies Marathon and Half-Marathon on June 12, 2016. Perfect weather and a stunningly beautiful and fast course helped dozens of runners achieve PRs and BQs.

"The course was majestic, I felt really lucky in life to be running in such a beautiful place,” said Claudia De La Via, who ran the marathon and beat her BQ time by 12 minutes. Claudia’s description of her experience is similar to dozens of runners in both the half-marathon and the marathon: “Definitely felt a runner's high from start to finish."

The REVEL Rockies Marathon and Half-Marathon, on June 12 in Denver, Colorado, was a tremendous success. In the marathon, runners began the race near the Echo Mountain Ski Resort on Squaw Pass Road. With breathtaking views of the surrounding Rocky Mountains, the marathoners were treated to a gorgeous sunrise over the distant Denver landscape to the east.

Meanwhile, 13.1 miles ahead, half-marathoners began their race in the serene, calm beauty of Evergreen, Colorado.

All of the runners were treated to some of the most spectacular scenery in the West as they made their way along the final 10 miles of the course, which followed the crystal clear and gently flowing waters of Bear Creek all the way to the finish area in Morrison, Colorado, home of the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Overall, the extremely fast and beautiful downhill course drew outstanding reviews from the marathoners and half-marathoners, and remarkable finish times from the overall winners in both events.

Top Finishers

In the marathon, Grant Bell, 22, returned to reclaim his winning position with a finishing time of 2:28:43. In second place, only 36 days after his win at the 2016 Mt Charleston Marathon, was Gary Krugger, 31, with a finish of 2:41:16. Christopher Gombeski, 29, was the third-place finisher with a time of 2:43:46.

In the women’s marathon, Kathryn Brake, 26, won with a time of 3:03:25. Lauren Delfeld, 27, was the second-place finisher in 3:09:31. In third place, with a time of 3:13:38, was Paige Fisher, 26.

In the half-marathon, Jacob Kuntz, 25, won with a 1:17:42 finish. Ryan Parker, 20, and Scott Gelletich, 29, rounded out the top 3 with finishes of 1:18:49 and 1:22:31, respectively.

The women’s half-marathon had a very tight finish. Yianna Antonoppoulos, 29, was the overall female winner of the half-marathon with a finish in 1:23:17. In second place, only 18 seconds behind Antonoppoulos, was Susan Loken, 52, with a finishing time of 1:23:35. Coming in third was Jaime Stewart, 40, clocking a 1:25:35 finish.

Runners Rave About Overall Course and Race Logistics

Heather Wilkerson, who ran the half-marathon as part of her ironman training, spoke of the “calm, fun” event, and said that she was “surprised by such a great experience.” Heather added, “You all have taken all the things that I've not liked about other races and made them right. Thank you!”

"BEST ROAD RACE AND MARATHON COURSE I HAVE EVER DONE," wrote Bogdan Dumitrescu, who ran the marathon.

Matthew Walworth commented “What an awesome event! It was a fabulous.” He added “great course and some of the best race personnel and volunteers I have encountered in any event. Kudos for a job well done!”

Gaby Ruiz, who ran her first marathon at REVEL Rockies, said “Great race! I'm glad I chose Revel to be my first full! Amazing experience all around.”

“Couldn't ask for a better marathon experience!” exclaimed Belinda Oh, who ran a PR and a BQ in the marathon. Similarly, Julie Abele, who ran her first half-marathon, said “Everything was so smooth from start to finish. I was impressed by how organized everything was. Great job!” As for the course itself, Julie added “So pretty, I would run that course every day if I could.”

“Fabulous views, fabulous time, fabulous PR, Boston here I come!” said marathon finisher Stewart Layhe, who PRd by 9 minutes and ran a BQ.

Runners Applaud the Beautiful Course

Aimee Cazares, who ran the half-marathon, described the course as “fast and beautiful... Seeing a family of mule deer walk right up to the road was a definite highlight.” Sarah Solano, who ran her first marathon at REVEL Rockies, happily noted that “the view running down the pass was absolutely beautiful...the birds were singing their morning song.”

Nicky Kent, who ran a 13-minute PR and a BQ in the marathon, said “Absolutely gorgeous scenery.” Likewise, half-marathon finisher LaVonda Francis summed up the course as “beautiful,” adding “I really love this course.”

Makaila Monroe, who registered for the half just two days before the race because she “did not want to miss out on such a beautiful course,” wasn't disappointed: “The scenery is beautiful. I was very happy with the race course.” Echoing those comments were Miguel Lopez from Texas, with one word: “beautiful.”

“The scenery was unbelievable,” added Jess Risager. “Sheer cliffs and sparking river made it perfect and memorable!” Likewise, Terre Deegan-Young commented that she “can't imagine a more beautiful and impressive setting…the scenery alone would inspire anyone to complete either race.”

Lyndsy Schultz, who raved about the “unbelievably beautiful course and perfect weather,” commented that “throughout nearly the entire race, I found myself simply enjoying the views and the peace and quiet of the race course.” Similarly, Ronnie Brown called the half-marathon course “gorgeous,” adding that REVEL Rockies was “My first REVEL and not my last.”

Steven Pettit gave high marks to the course and the race organization, saying “This is a beautiful course, I was amazed every step of the way,” and “BEAUTIFUL is the only word that describes this course.” His advice to other runners is to “Sign up for this run and get blown away by the beauty of this course and the fantastic group that puts it on.”

Runners LOVED the Fast Course

Laura Lukac, who PRd in the marathon, raved about the “beautiful race,” the “awesome” volunteers, and the course that helped her “beat my best time by 13 minutes!”

Jordan Javech, who PRd by 17 minutes and beat his BQ by 7 minutes, praised numerous elements of the race and the course: “What a perfect race! The weather conditions couldn't have been better and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. Those downhills made for a fast race! I loved it! Boston, here I come!”

Jason Strunk, who ran an 11-minute PR in the half-marathon, called it “BEST...RACE...EVER!”

Dave Brennan gave high marks to the half-marathon course, describing it as “excellent and downhill, no doubt about it!”

Runners Appreciate Race Support and Logistics

Brenda Mundy, who said she would “recommend this race to anyone,” added “It was a beautiful race. Well organized. I would do it again tomorrow.”

Jess Risager, who ran a 10-minute PR in the half-marathon, lauded the race organization, saying “This was the most organized race I've had the pleasure of participating in all the while earning a half marathon PR!!”

“Great day - great course - great logistics,” said Suzanne Dysard, who ran the half-marathon. Like Dysard, runner Cat Rowan called the race logistics “fantastic,” adding that the course “was absolutely beautiful.”
 
Calling the finish area “festive and fun,” half-marathon winner Jacob Kuntz added “Overall, great race!”

For anyone thinking about this race in the future, heed the advice of Stephanie Toms: “Just do it, this is a fantastic race to run.” Likewise, Deseree Thompson, who PRd by 13 minutes in the half, says “Amazing race! Will be back next year.”