Salt is
salt.
Part of our running series. Run Better in 2027 covered training less and recovering more. Yoga for Runners covered owning your range. This one covers the white stuff on your socks.
My grandfather loved salt, and so do I.
After a few races, I kept finding white salt caked on the shins of my socks. That crust started a question. Good salt or bad salt? Too much or too little?
So here's the research.
Faster. Triathletes given salt capsules finished a half-ironman in 307 minutes. The placebo group took 333.6
Before you fade. Runners who drank a high-sodium drink before a hot run lasted longer before exhaustion.26
Of tested Boston Marathon finishers had low blood sodium. The biggest risk factor was drinking too much water.1
Off a 1,500 m. Capsaicin, the heat in chili peppers, made runners faster over short distances.5
Salt is a tool. Used with a plan, it helps you hold water and hold pace. Here's how to use it.
Salt is older than we are
Every grain of salt is a dried-up sea. When a shallow sea gets cut off and the sun outpaces the rain, the water leaves and the salt stays. Geologists call these deposits evaporites.7
Time buries it. Mountains lift it. Salt beds more than 1,000 feet thick sit underground, and under Texas and Louisiana they've pushed up as salt domes.7 Pink salt comes from a sea that dried over present-day Pakistan 500 to 600 million years ago. The Himalayas didn't make that salt. They lifted it.25
Salt is a cube. Look at table salt under a magnifying glass and you'll see tiny boxes.7
Salt is 39% sodium. Salt is sodium chloride. By weight, about 39% is sodium and 61% is chloride. One teaspoon of salt carries about 2,300 mg of sodium.12
Grams of salt x 0.39 = grams of sodium.
Salt built the world
Roads
Animals wore paths to salt licks. People followed, and the trails became roads. Rome's Via Salaria was the salt road.27
Salary
The word comes from the Latin for salt. The story that soldiers were paid in salt is likely a myth.14
Health
Most of the salt in your day was added before the food reached you. American adults average more than 3,300 mg of sodium a day, well over the 2,300 mg limit. About 71% comes from packaged and restaurant food. Only about 11% comes from the shaker and home cooking.11
Your blood still runs on a narrow band of sodium, about 135 to 145 mmol per liter.10 Your body guards that number the way a farmer guards a well.
Salt is salt
There's no good or bad salt. There are flavor profiles and composition. Every salt on the shelf is mostly sodium chloride. What changes is the crystal, the trace minerals, and the story on the label.
Fine grain, refined, usually iodized
Dissolves fastest in a bottle and measures easily.
Evaporated seawater, slightly larger crystals
Same sodium by weight. Usually no iodine.
Mined in Pakistan. Iron oxide gives the color25
You'd need about 6 teaspoons a day to get meaningful minerals, over 5 times the sodium limit.22
Kiln-fired with charcoal and herbs. Sulfur gives an eggy smell18
A flavor salt. Same job underneath.
Large, flaky crystals
Less sodium per teaspoon, because fewer grams fit in the spoon.
Sea salt with charcoal, or damp sea salt from French clay ponds
Color and texture, not performance.
Your minerals come from food, not the shaker. The trace minerals in fancy salt are real, but the amounts are tiny.22
Salt is salt. Color is flavor. Sodium is the number.
Water follows salt.
Here's what the research says.
Sodium is the main electrolyte you lose in sweat. It helps your body hold the water you drink instead of passing it straight through.10
Sweat is personal. Runners lose 0.5 to 2.0 liters of sweat an hour, at 230 to 2,070 mg of sodium per liter.2 That's anywhere from about 100 mg to over 4,000 mg of sodium an hour. White crust on your gear says you're on the salty end.
Salt can make you faster in long races.
In a randomized trial during a real half-ironman, the salt group beat the placebo group by 26 minutes and finished with higher blood sodium.6
Salt before the heat buys you time.
Runners who drank a high-sodium drink before running in the heat started with more blood volume, felt less strain, and lasted longer.26
Salt doesn't stop cramps.
In 210 Ironman athletes, cramping tracked with racing faster than usual and a history of cramps. Blood sodium and dehydration didn't predict it.24
Too much water is the real danger.
In one Boston Marathon study, 13% of tested runners finished with low blood sodium. Gaining weight during the race, from drinking too much, was the strongest warning sign.1
Food covers more than you think.
In a 100-mile race in the heat, food and drink supplied about two thirds of runners' sodium. Total sodium intake had no link to cramping or low blood sodium.16
Match the salt you lose. Drink to thirst. Train the pace you plan to race.
How much and when
The longer and hotter the run, the more salt matters. Under an hour, it barely does.
Salt your food to taste. Runners eating normally took in more sodium than they sweated out.9
A salty breakfast, or a salty drink sipped over about an hour.26
Water when thirsty. Your stores cover it.
Sodium in your drink or food. The sports drink range is 460 to 690 mg per liter.23
About 500 mg an hour, adjusted to you. That's roughly what the faster half-ironman group took.6
Drink 125 to 150% of the fluid you lost, with salty food.10
I drink a little, often.
I run with a hydration pack of water plus a Nuun tablet or a pinch of salt, and I take a sip about every 5 minutes.
- One Nuun Sport tablet adds 300 mg of sodium to 16 oz of water.21 That works out to about 630 mg per liter, right inside the sports drink range.23
- A pinch of salt is the budget version. A quarter teaspoon carries about 575 mg of sodium.12
- The 5-minute sip is a rhythm, not a quota. Small, steady sips keep sodium and fluid coming in all race long. I still let thirst set the total.13
Find your number. Weigh yourself before and after a long run. Each kilogram lost is roughly a liter of sweat.23 White salt on your hat or socks puts you on the salty end.
- Drink to thirst. The international consensus calls it the safest strategy.13
- Pair salt with carbs. Glucose and sodium pull water across the gut wall together, the same principle behind oral rehydration solutions.19
- Practice it in training. Your long runs are the dress rehearsal for your stomach.
- Eat salty after. Broth, eggs, a pickle, salted potatoes.
- Drinking until your urine runs clear. That's how runners overdrink.13
- Finishing heavier than you started. It was the strongest warning sign of low blood sodium in Boston.1
- Salt pills to stop a cramp. The research points to fatigue and pace, not sodium.24
- Ignoring the warning signs. A headache, nausea, puffy fingers, or confusion late in a race can mean low blood sodium. Stop drinking plain water and get to the medical tent.
If you have high blood pressure, kidney disease, or a doctor watching your sodium, talk with them before adding salt.
Four ingredients. Six pieces.
One every 20 to 40 minutes.
- 2 slices sourdough bread
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tbsp red pepper jam
- A dash of cinnamon
- Spread 1 tbsp almond butter and 1 tbsp red pepper jam between the 2 slices of sourdough.
- Dash the cinnamon over the filling before you close the slices.
- Cut once horizontally and twice vertically to make 6 pieces.
- Eat one piece every 20 to 40 minutes, depending on your needs. Six pieces cover about 2 to 4 hours.
Every ingredient has a job.
Salt and steady fuel.
A medium slice carries about 150 mg of sodium.28 Sourdough produced a lower blood sugar response than whole wheat breads in a controlled study.20
The rehydration pairing.
Glucose from the bread pulls sodium and water across the gut wall together.19
The fast fuel.
Its sugar is glucose plus fructose, which use different doorways in the gut, so you absorb more per hour.17
The long haul.
Fat slows the stomach and softens the blood sugar rise.3 Great on a long trail day. It can sit heavy in a short, fast race.
Flavor first.
6 g of cinnamon slowed stomach emptying and the blood sugar rise in one study.15 A dash is far less, so count it as taste.
Red peppers and running
Capsaicin helps short races. The evidence fades past a few miles.
12 mg taken 45 minutes before made runners about 5 seconds faster, and the effort felt easier.5
A 12 mg capsaicin analogue improved both.4
24 mg made no difference in 21 amateur runners.29
28.5 mg a day for a week caused stomach trouble with no sprint benefit.8
Those studies used capsules. A tablespoon of red pepper jam carries far less capsaicin, and jam made from sweet bell peppers carries almost none. The jam is in my pocket for fuel and flavor. Any boost is a bonus.
The math
Two medium slices of sourdough carry about 26 g of carbs and 300 mg of sodium.28 A tablespoon of jam adds roughly 10 to 15 g of sugar, so check your jar. The guideline is about 30 g of carbs an hour for 1 to 2 hours, rising to 60 g, and up to 90 g past 2.5 hours.17 So the sandwich is my base. The hydration pack carries most of the salt, and a sports drink or gel tops off the carbs on long days.
Sandwich for the base. Pack for the salt. Thirst for the total.
Runner questions, answered
Do runners need salt tablets?
Not for most runs. Under an hour, water when thirsty is enough. Past 2.5 hours or in heat, sodium from a drink, food, or capsules helps you hold water and pace.
How much sodium per hour on a long run?
Sports drinks carry 460 to 690 mg per liter. On long, hot races, about 500 mg an hour is a good starting point, adjusted to how salty you sweat.
Does salt prevent cramps?
The research says no. Cramps tracked with racing faster than usual and a history of cramps, not blood sodium.
Is pink salt better than table salt?
No. Every salt is mostly sodium chloride. Pink salt's minerals are real but tiny. Pick the salt you like the taste of.
The point
My grandfather was onto something. Salt isn't the villain or the hero. It's a tool, and the skill is in the timing.
Salt is salt. Drink to thirst. Add salt with your carbs when the run gets long and hot. Leave the salt pills alone when it's a cramp talking.
Movement is half of the formula. The other half is what you feed it.
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Cheers,
Layn Chess
Founder & Training Director
Facet Seven Fitness
- Almond CSD, et al. Hyponatremia among runners in the Boston Marathon. N Engl J Med, 2005.
- Baker LB. Sweating rate and sweat sodium concentration in athletes. Sports Med, 2017.
- Collier G, O'Dea K. The effect of coingestion of fat on the glucose, insulin, and gastric inhibitory polypeptide responses to carbohydrate and protein. Am J Clin Nutr, 1983.
- Costa LA, et al. Acute capsaicin analog supplementation improves 400 m and 3000 m running time-trial performance. Int J Exerc Sci, 2020.
- de Freitas MC, et al. Acute capsaicin supplementation improves 1,500-m running time-trial performance and rate of perceived exertion. J Strength Cond Res, 2018.
- Del Coso J, et al. Effects of oral salt supplementation on physical performance during a half-ironman. Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2016. Race times via NutraIngredients.
- DesertUSA. Halite.
- Giuriato G, et al. Capsaicin and its effect on exercise performance, fatigue and inflammation after exercise. Nutrients, 2022.
- Gotthold C. Dietary sodium intake and sweat sodium losses in endurance athletes. West Chester University, 2020.
- Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Understanding fluid and electrolyte replacement.
- Harnack LJ, et al. Sources of sodium in US adults from 3 geographic regions. Circulation, 2017. Daily average via CDC.
- Harvard Health Publishing. The lowdown on low sodium.
- Hew-Butler T, et al. Statement of the 3rd International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Development Conference. Br J Sports Med, 2015.
- History of salt. Wikipedia.
- Hlebowicz J, et al. Effect of cinnamon on postprandial blood glucose, gastric emptying, and satiety in healthy subjects. Am J Clin Nutr, 2007.
- Hoffman MD, Stuempfle KJ, Valentino T. Sodium intake during an ultramarathon does not prevent muscle cramping, dehydration, hyponatremia, or nausea. Sports Med Open, 2015.
- Jeukendrup A. A step towards personalized sports nutrition: carbohydrate intake during exercise. Sports Med, 2014.
- Kala namak. Wikipedia.
- Loo DDF, et al. Cotransport of water by the Na+/glucose cotransporter. PNAS, 1996.
- Najjar AM, et al. The acute impact of ingestion of breads of varying composition on blood glucose, insulin and incretins. Br J Nutr, 2009.
- Nuun Sport. Nutrition facts label.
- Nutrition Research Australia. Pink salt mineral analysis of 31 samples, via The New Daily, 2020.
- Sawka MN, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: Exercise and fluid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2007.
- Schwellnus MP, Drew N, Collins M. Increased running speed and previous cramps rather than dehydration or serum sodium changes predict exercise-associated muscle cramping. Br J Sports Med, 2011.
- Science ABC. How did Himalayan pink salt end up so high in the mountains?
- Sims ST, et al. Sodium loading aids fluid balance and reduces physiological strain of trained men exercising in the heat. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2007.
- TIME. A Brief History of Salt, 1982.
- Sourdough nutrition per slice, USDA data via FatSecret.
- von Ah Morano AE, et al. Capsaicin analogue supplementation does not improve 10 km running time-trial performance in male amateur athletes. Nutrients, 2020.
This post is education, not medical advice.
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