camel backs (Read 1858 times)

Is there a secret to sucking water through a plastic tube, while your body is gasping for more oxygen. I can't seem to do it . Do I need to change the type of bite valve I'm using, or something?

They can be hard to get water through. I found it easier to slow down a little or even walk for a few seconds to get a drink, then get back to running or running faster. They do get a little easier to use with practice, but I think, at least the waist mounted ones, will always be a little tough to get water through due to gravity. Maybe the backpack ones are easier. Like Kirsten, I went with a belt mounted bottle, but a different maker (UD) which I use on longer runs. For anything under 10 miles - I just got with the handheld UD bottle.

Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you use it at a race?

Bonkin' Mike is mostly right. My main reason is that most of my road marathons have been fairly large ones, and even the small ones had plenty of support, and I just haven't had a need for it. When there is water every mile or every 2 miles or even every 3 miles, that's plenty. I'm on the road for less than 3 hours so I don't need to carry extra. If I do a marathon where there are only say 2 water stops, then I would probably carry water. So far, the only long race that I felt a need to carry water was a 50k race in the middle of a forest.