It's marathon season, and the NY Times has dragged up the bogeyman of too much water. They ran this exact same story last year, as I recall.

Here's my two cents: I'm running in a marathon relay this weekend (I'm only going 10K). You can be sure that the last thing I'm going to worry about is drinking too much water. For races 10K and longer, if you're going reasonably fast (faster than 9 minute miles, I'd say), you WILL lose water if it's over 60 degrees, and you WILL NOT be able to replenish water as quickly as you lose it.

The victims of hyponatremia cited in this article are probably going very slowly (so they're not losing water) and are ignoring all of their body's natural signs that they have enough water in them. (The need to urinate is pretty darn reliable in this regard.) If this article helps to educate those people that they don't need to gorge themselves on water, fine.

But, it's simply irresponsible to say that no one has ever died from dehydration while running. This guy is the most famous victim, and there are other football players like him who die every year from dehydration and related causes (like heart failure and heat stroke). Short of dying, there are a lot of bad things that can happen to you if you don't drink enough water - you can pass out or become ill, and your race performance will certainly suffer.

Lastly, the article suggests that sports drinks are no different from water. That's not true - it's much easier to absorb sports drinks when you're dehydrated and sweating and your electrolytes are out of balance.