The Best Way To Cool Down While Running On Hot Days

Let’s say it’s hot, really hot, and you’ve been running, really running, and you want to be cool, really cool. You’ve got a jar of cold water that you can A, drink, or B, dump on your head. What to do? Fortunately, researchers at California State University in Fullerton have looked into the matter. Writing in the New York Times, Gretchen Reynolds reports that the researchers put ten trained runners through the paces, first with a 90-minute walk and then a 5 K time trial, all in lab with the temperature set at 92 degrees (and low humidity). In one test, the runners drank cooled water (44 degrees) every ten minutes. In another, they dumped it on their heads (same temperature, same time periods). In another, they did both, and in yet another, they did nothing- no water taken internally or externally. What worked best? Unsurprisingly, the runners felt worst when they had no water. When they drank water, their heart rates were lower, but they felt best when they dumped water on their heads. Wait there’s more: none of the treatments had any influence on how fast they ran the 5K. Read more from Gretchen Reynolds. Read an excerpt from the study here.