Hi Emma, I always hydrate well the day before a race, and as I am usually up quite early in the mornings I tend to drink a couple of pints of water before I go off the the race.

If the race starts at say 11:00 I usually stop drinking large amounts at around 09:00, travel to the event and I am always there an hour before the start and the first thing I do is visit the loo as there is usually plenty of fresh available cubicles to pick from. After which I sip very sparingly carb drink.

The drinks stations are only there really to wet my mouth if the water gets anywhere near it, it usually goes up my nose, darn plastic cups. 10 mile plus races I take a squezzy energy gel, Half marathons a bottle belt comes out especially if hot.

Hi everyone - just a quick question. I usually find that if I am hydrated enough beforehand I can get through a 10k without needing to stop for more water. However I do then need to use the bathroom rather a lot, both in the immediate run-up to the start (which results in getting stuck in awful queues, losing my friends and missing my preferred starting position) and in the first few miles of the race. I read somewhere that you don't actually need to drink before the race in order to be well-hydrated though, and that it's enough to drink plenty the night before and a tiny bit when you first get up - so I guess it's all worked through the system in time to not need to join those awful queues! Is this true? How long before the race start is it sensible to stop drinking? I know it's going to be hot on Sunday, so I don't want to go to far in the wrong direction...

Thanks!