I think the point that is sometimes being missed in the conversation is actually in the title of thread.

Will the Camelbak actually prevent overheating?

Which is more effective at cooling the body? Drinking warm fluids from a Camelbak consistently throughout the run or drinking iced drinks from aid stations every mile?

It may be worth freezing the Camelbak overnight and let it slowly thaw through the morning.

Are there other reasons why the OP isn't coping too well with the heat? Sure, different people have different heat tolerances, but as I mentioned earlier, plenty of other choices and behaviours influence how well you race in the heat. Colour and material of clothing is another.

I think while we're only focusing on a Camelbak (relative doucheness in a 70.3 vs if it "works" for you...without really knowing if it does), the thread probably isn't as helpful as it otherwise might be.

I wonder if people will look at me funny if I carry a handheld water bottle on the run of my first HIM in two weeks. I recently carried it on a trail race, and it was so nice to just open the bottle as I ran up to the aid stations, say "water please", and thank them as I ran off. That way, I could sip the water as needed and not feel that I had to try to slam it all back before taking off again.

Like other people have said, who cares what other people think if you carry a bottle or camelback or whatever?

That's one of the funniest parts of this sport. The athletes out there talking about all their gear and trying to look the coolest and who have the most expensive set-ups are almost guaranteed to not be the fastest. The fastest worry about what works for them and they go out there and race.

As for the water bottle, I ran with a water bottle full of Gatorade at Boulder 70.3 this year and took water at the aid stations. Granted I hydrated well on the bike to begin with, but I've never felt so smooth on the run and I attribute some of that to having a bottle with me. And yes, my time was legit and I will continue to run with a bottle. And for those that looked at me weird when I was doing it, hopefully they looked up my results at the end. If they outran me, laugh away I guess. If they didn't, laugh away anyway. Doesn't matter. It worked for me.

I will wear a fuel belt with two bottles on it. It might be annoying for a very fast runner, but I am not very fast so being able to drink when I want to is preferable.

Why not a fuel belt with one 8 oz. bottle? 8 oz can easily get you 2 miles/aid stations and easy to refill. Just grab 2 or 3 cups of fluid and dump. You don't have to be neat.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Carry it.

I feel like I approach this discussion with considerable clout given my background. I used to be "Judgmental 5K Guy". I'd see people running slow on the road and would think "If you are going to run that slowly, why bother?" Then, I'd see people in 5K and 10K races carrying water or stopping at the water stations and think, "C'mon, you can't go 5K/10K without a drink? Don't you know how much that's slowing you down?"

Worst of all, the sight of a competitor wearing the race T-Shirt in the race would send "Judgmental 5K Guy" into a rage.

Then "Judgmental 5K Guy" became "IM Guy" who had to do slow long training runs (in public {...gasp...}). It pained IM Guy to run in public for 12-18 miles at 8-8:30 pace. Who would see him? Did they know he was training for an IM and that's why he was running slow? IM Guy went as far as to sometimes purposely do his slow runs on his treadmill so he wouldn't have to run slowly in public. Even more embarrassing, he started carrying a water bottle. Running slowly and a water bottle? Oh, the humanity!

"IM Guy" also used to secretly laugh at other competitors in sprints and Olympics when their shoes had those zip laces. What d-bags! Take 30 seconds and tie your damn shoes.

One day, "IM Guy" realized the world doesn't revolve around him and every random stranger passing in a car is not judging "IM Guy". All of the sudden, "IM Guy" stopped judging others because, well, who the hell cares what everyone else does? It was quite liberating.

I have a very short triathlon racing career and I've still seen it all from banana seats on bikes to race belts with seemingly gallons of water on them. If you are not interfering in my race, what do I care? Likewise, if I'm not interfering in your race, what do you care what I do?

Now, I do listen to the studs when they make suggestions because I am trying to get better/faster. I will try new things if they work for others.

• I've tried no socks...no go, I've got sissy feet.
• I've tired no wetsuit in a sprint...no go, I am significantly slower.
• I added aeros and removed the cages from my road bike...bike speed has increase from 15mph to 22mph during races.
• And, yes, I now use those zippy laces because "IM Guy" realized that taking 30 seconds to tie your shoes essentially adds 10 seconds per mile to your 5K time in a sprint which nullifies an awful lot of those 400M repeats you suffer through.

The point is there is no right and wrong way. There is just your way. And, your way will evolve, but it has to happen in training and it has to be because you want it to and not because some MOP AGer like IM Guy is looking at you with the stink eye.

That completely misses the point. I want to sip water, not dump it on my head. I also don't want to stop every two miles. Plus, fuel belts are uncomfortable. I like my handheld.

One other thing is you can take sips from Camelbak often and not load a ton of liquid in one gulp, or get it all over you, or break your stride/cadence/rhythm - kinda like having a 10cc drip of GU Brew...and if you've ever had Gatorade splashed all over you on a hot sticky run you know how annoying that is.

But I suppose I am a hypocrite because I train with one but have never raced in one, because when push comes to shove, on race day I'm looking to ditch any flotsam and jetsam that might slow me down.

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“Bloom wherever you are planted"

This is in part what prompted me to ask the original question. I got the "don't do it" feedback about the camelbak from the tri folks I know, but I also know a sub-3:00 marathoner that races with his, soooo, yeah.

We have all done it. Taken notice of common wisdom dished out on the basis of personal knowledge or opinion.

If you don't take the camelback and you blow up you will be pissed.
Because common wisdom wasn't right for you on the day.
If you take the camelback and you blow up, you have no reason to be pissed,
but you will have learned something in the process.

As you are an MOP finisher, it's really about getting there in one piece, having a little fun and justifying the training.
Race how you train.

accuweather has it being 101 on race day. Take the Camelbak!

The aid stations will have plenty of fluids for you. I would much rather grab a bottle of perform and a water bottle from an aid station and carry those around rather than a backpack.

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Mason

timeanddate.com and weather.com are showing 82-84F.

I'm rooting against accuweather

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_____________________________________
What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

Was just about to post this. Weather Underground is trending ~82-84 as well.

Are you sure you're looking at the right data, because the record (not the forecast) for that day is 102.

I hope I've made a mistake or they have:
accuweather.com



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Just to follow up on this thread, I raced with the camelbak and was glad I did. Thankfully the weather was pretty great so overheating wasn't really an issue. That said, there were a couple times on the run I was glad to have my nutrition right then and there when I wanted it and the camelbak provided that. Now, that said, if I race it again next year, I may or may not bring it. It was a learning process and while helpful for my first one, I can probably adjust to not having it (although it didn't hinder my performance, so maybe I'll bring it after all).

Thanks again to everyone for their input. I really appreciated every single response. Keep the rubber side down.

Congrats on the finish.

Congrats on your race! I also carried a hydration pack (a Nathan, not a Camelbak). I like my Nathan because it has a back panel to put ice. Though we lucked out with the weather being lower than usual, it was still nice to have ice on my back the whole run.

I kept an eye out for other packs on the run (and wondered what you decided to do). Don't think I saw any, but that's ok, I Just do my own thing as long as it works for me and it makes me faster.