That the saying “It’s not the heat but the humidity” is a hot local topic now after all the rain and hot days has made the humidity is a very real factor.

The high humidity leads to problems because a runner does not get rid of their sweat as fast when the air is dry and evaporation is there to keep cool. I was talking with a friend the other day and they mentioned that, after a three-mile run, she had lost four pounds. This really sounds like a “quick weight loss” way to go, but that loss of weight was 99% water weight; and as soon as you drink any fluid it comes back. So that fast weight loss is also a fast weight gain. And if you do not replace that water weight, you will begin to get dehydrated and that can lead to some more problems. The dehydration loss can be accumulative and may occur over several days before you notice a difference. No ill affects for a day or two; and then, all of a sudden, a walk or short run and suddenly there is a problem with heat exhaustion or, even worse, heat stroke.

I read an article in the Sports Science Exchange newsletter on hydration assessment of athletes. The article contained many consequences of dehydration and how it affects the body; and especially of a person who is active, such as runners. The main point was finding a simple assessment for determining if a runner was becoming dehydrated. The term the article mentioned was “WUT is the answer.” The “W” stands for weight. The runner should weigh in the morning before any food or liquid is consumed.

Any loss of more than 1% in the day-to-day weighing may be an early signal of dehydration. If you are trying to lose weight, this may seem like a good thing, and in fact it may be fat calories burned; but if you do this every day (a 150-pound person loses 1 1/2 pounds a day), by the end of the week that adds up to over 10 pounds, and that is not beneficial for long-term loss. Weight is just one part of the hydration trio.

The second letter is “U” and stands for urine. A couple of things on this are volume and color. A hydrated person will have more urine than a dehydrated person; and a hydrated person will have a clearer color and not be dark in color. This is another indication of dehydration, if the first time you go in the morning the urine is dark in color. It might mean an early stage of dehydration, and if you plan a long run that day, you need to be very alert to dehydration problems.

The third letter stands for the “T” or thirst. If you are thirsty, that is a good indication of dehydration and often indicates that the time is now for a drink of fluid. One point that many physiologists mention is that a runner should not wait until they are thirsty to take a drink, as that is a good indication that a runner is already dehydrated.

The article mentioned that any one of the symptoms is a good early warning sign that a runner needs to start monitoring their fluid intake. If two of the symptoms are present, then that is a likely indication that the runner is dehydrated; and if all three are present, that is a very likely indication that the runner is dehydrated.

A runner who ignores any of these signs is looking for problems later on, and needs to keep the saying that runners use, “Listen to your body” to heart. I have been to races and have seen some of the consequences of dehydration for runners.

There is another problem that does not necessarily relate to the runner, and that is the people around them. I saw one runner collapse and fall in a ditch; and his friend said there was nothing wrong “because he is an experienced runner.” Even elite runners can fall victim to dehydration if they do not follow good hydration practices.

For a runner to suddenly experience a sensation of heavy legs, loss of concentration (some to the point of not knowing where they are or not being able to answer a simple question) or loss of sweating (and my favorite symptom is when the hair on the back of your head starts to stand up), you’d better stop, cool off and start drinking cold water. It may seem to some runners who are “macho” and immune to anything like dehydration that it really takes away the macho image when you fall down or stagger around and have to be taken to the hospital emergency room in an ambulance.

I saw one guy turn a corner too soon near the end of the race and run flat into a store’s plate glass window; and he couldn’t get up off the sidewalk, but was still saying he could finish the race. Needless to say, the ambulance solved the problem when they loaded him up and took him away.

Stay hydrated and remember “WUT” you need to do about running in hot and humid weather.