Assessment of dehydration rate and hydration practices in half-marathon runners

Abstract

Evaluate the hydration experiences before, during and after a half-marathon competition, and also determine the dehydration levels of these athletes. It's about a transversal, descriptive and quantitative with exploring characteristics research, in which 241 athletes participated, of both genders, in ages between 19 and 59 years old, it happened during the Sun's Half-Marathon national competition done with the athletes of 21km competition. The hydration level was evaluated before and after the race, through body weight, and for knowledge evaluation some questions were applied asking for before, during and after the training and competition. In knowledge and behavior's evaluation of the athletes we noticed that most of them show themselves well informed about hydration. However, a concerning statistic is that 20% of people who were evaluated say that "an athlete shall not drink water or other fluids during the training and competition". The body weight was significantly reduced (p<0,0001); on average, the group lost 2,76 ± 1,57 kg. The athletes consumed about 688,57 ml/h, they showed a sweating level of 45,92 ± 26,17 mL/min and 57,0% of moderated dehydration. It was verified that the athletes of this modality had a significant loss of weight level, most of them presenting more than 2% levels, they are well-informed, however they require personal recommendation, because the general recommendations don't apply to the needs of the studied public.