Hydration and Electrolytes for Running and Cycling | FTP Endurance Fuel
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Hydration & Electrolytes for Running and Cycling
Sweat costs you more than water. Get the sodium, fluid and timing right and you'll hold pace deeper into every run and ride.
Shop Electrolyte Tablets — £5.99Just launched · Cherry flavour · Trusted by runners, cyclists and endurance athletes
Do runners and cyclists need electrolytes? Yes — once a session goes past 60–90 minutes, or any time you're sweating hard. Aim for 400–800ml of fluid per hour with 300–700mg of sodium per litre. The simplest fix: drop one FTP Electrolyte Tablet into your bottle and drink to thirst.
Why electrolytes matter
Sweat isn't just water. Every litre you lose carries sodium out with it — along with smaller amounts of potassium, magnesium and chloride. Sodium is the one that matters most for endurance athletes: it governs fluid balance, helps your body actually hold on to what you drink, and supports normal muscle and nerve function.
Lose enough fluid and performance drops fast — higher heart rate for the same pace, rising perceived effort, fading power. If you finish rides with white salt streaks on your kit or helmet straps, you're a salty sweater and sodium replacement matters even more for you.
When water alone isn't enough
For an easy 40-minute jog, plain water is fine. But on long or hot sessions, drinking large volumes of plain water dilutes the sodium you've already lost — you'll pee more of it out, hold less of it in, and still feel flat. That's when an electrolyte in the bottle earns its place.
The working rules are simple: 400–800ml of fluid per hour depending on heat, intensity and body size, and 300–700mg of sodium per litre — towards the top end if you're a heavy or salty sweater, or racing in the heat.
| Session | Fluid per hour | Sodium | What to use |
| Easy run or ride, under 60 min | Drink to thirst | Optional | Water is usually fine |
| 60–90 min steady | 400–600ml | 300–500mg/L | One electrolyte tablet per bottle |
| Long run or ride, 90 min+ | 500–800ml | 300–700mg/L | Carb + electrolyte drink mix |
| Hot day or salty sweater | Up to 800ml | 500–700mg/L | Tablets or mix, top of the sodium range |
Easy days vs long days
Match the bottle to the session. On easy days and shorter efforts you don't need carbs in your drink — you need fluid and sodium. That's exactly what the new FTP Electrolyte Tablets are for: drop one tablet into a 500–750ml bottle, let it dissolve, drink. Light cherry flavour, no sugar load, no sticky bottles.
On long days — the two-hour ride, the 20-mile run, race day — you need fuel as well as fluid. That's where a carbohydrate and electrolyte drink mix like Power Fluids does both jobs in one bottle.
New: FTP Electrolyte Tablets
One tablet, one bottle, sorted. Cherry flavour, just £5.99.
Tablets or drink mix?
Choose tablets when the session is easy, short, or you're already fuelling with pastilles or food and just want clean hydration — commutes, recovery runs, gym sessions, hot office days included.
Choose drink mix when you need carbs and sodium together on long or hard days. Power Fluids comes in caffeine-free Tart Cherry or Neutral Citrus with a light 50mg of caffeine per serving — same 27g of carbohydrate either way.
Where caffeine fits in the bottle
If you take caffeine during long sessions, the useful habit is simply knowing your total. It usually arrives from three or four places at once, and people routinely underestimate it.
Rough figures: a mug of filter coffee is around 140mg, a mug of instant around 100mg, a mug of tea around 75mg. Caffeinated gels are commonly 75–100mg, but brands range from about 35mg to 200mg — check the pack rather than assuming.
EFSA's assessment is that single doses up to 200mg, and up to 400mg across 24 hours, do not raise safety concerns for healthy adults. Separately, food labelling rules require a drink to be declared high in caffeine above 150mg per litre.
For reference: Power Fluids Core contains 50mg per serving, which is 67–100mg per litre once mixed in 500–750ml — below that threshold. Power Fluids Tart Cherry and all our Energy Pastilles contain none. Whatever you use, settle it in training rather than on race morning. Not recommended for children or pregnant women.
Build your hydration kit
FTP Electrolyte Tablets — Cherry
Drop one in your bottle for sodium without the sugar.
£5.99
Shop Tablets
Common Questions
Should runners take electrolytes?
For runs over 60–90 minutes, in the heat, or if you sweat heavily — yes. Sodium keeps the fluid you drink where it's useful. For short, easy runs, water is enough.
What should I drink after a run?
Rehydrate with fluid plus sodium rather than plain water alone — an electrolyte tablet in a bottle helps you replace what you sweated out, especially after long or hot sessions.
Electrolyte tablets or drink mix — which is better?
Neither is better — they do different jobs. Tablets are hydration without carbs, ideal for easy or short sessions. Drink mix adds carbohydrate energy for long runs, rides and races.
How much sodium do I need per litre?
300–700mg of sodium per litre of fluid covers most athletes. Salty sweaters — white marks on kit, stinging eyes — should work towards the top of that range.
How much caffeine is in Power Fluids?
Power Fluids Core contains 50mg per 30g serving — less than half a mug of filter coffee. Mixed in 500–750ml that is 67–100mg per litre, below the 150mg per litre threshold at which a drink must be declared high in caffeine. Power Fluids Tart Cherry contains none. Not recommended for children or pregnant women.
Sort your hydration for £5.99
The new FTP Electrolyte Tablets are in stock now — one tube, weeks of better bottles.
Shop Electrolyte TabletsKeep reading: What to Eat During a Marathon · Tart Cherry Juice vs Supplements · Fuel for Cycling · Fuel for a Marathon
