AJ Anderson 
Gatorade edges out Powerade for most runners due to higher sodium content (160mg vs. 150mg per 12oz) and a faster-absorbing 6% carbohydrate solution, making it more effective for endurance efforts over 60 minutes. Powerade’s added B vitamins offer no proven performance benefit during runs.
Cramps aren’t simply a sign you’re low on electrolytes. Here’s the current science on why muscles seize up during exercise—and why pickle juice stops a cramp so fast.
Marathon runners should aim for 300-600mg of sodium per hour during the race, along with 50-100mg of potassium and 10-20mg of magnesium. Needs scale with sweat rate, heat, and pace—heavier sweaters running hot marathons may require up to 1,000mg sodium per hour.
The best homemade sports drink for long-distance running delivers 6-8% carbohydrate concentration (14-19g per 8oz), 300-600mg sodium per liter, and potassium for optimal gastric emptying and sustained performance during runs over 90 minutes.
Tomorrow afternoon, Estadio Azteca in Mexico City hosts Mexico vs. South Africa — the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the start of 104 matches across the United States, Canada, and Mexico between June 11 and July 19. The players will have sports-science staffs managing every gram of sodium they lose. The … Read more
Kids overheat faster than adults and lose far more sodium than most kids’ sports drinks replace. A parent’s guide to summer hydration, sodium first.
Most sports ask an athlete to manage hydration for a few hours. The 24 Hours of Le Mans asks a three-driver crew to manage it for an entire day and night — through 120-degree cockpits, double and triple stints, a 3 a.m. low point, and a finish line that arrives a full day after the … Read more
Next week, more than 2,000 of the fastest junior rowers in the country descend on Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, for the 2026 USRowing Youth National Championships (June 11–14). Four days of heats, semifinals, and finals. Mid-90s heat indices. Launch times that stretch from sunrise to late afternoon. And a sport with a strange … Read more
Commercial sports drinks offer precision electrolyte ratios, consistent osmolality, and tested absorption rates that homemade solutions rarely match, but DIY options can be engineered for specific sports at half the cost when you understand the underlying physiology.
Next week, the best collegiate athletes in the country descend on Hayward Field in Eugene for the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, June 10–13. Four days, multiple rounds, and a schedule that can leave an athlete sitting in the sun for six hours to run for eleven seconds. That gap — … Read more