For a routine 5k, choose plain still water if you want an unflavoured drink, or a sugar-free or no-added-sugar flavoured water if you prefer flavour and its exact label meets your needs. Water is for fluids, not carbohydrate fuel: the flavoured examples with 0g carbohydrate per 100ml provide no carbohydrate from the drink, so consider any separate fuelling plan in light of the full session’s duration and conditions.
If you want a drink before, after or around a short run, start with a bottle you are comfortable carrying and drinking. The NHS advises drinking extra fluids after sweating through physical activity; heat and exertion can change what you need.
A sugar-free or no-added-sugar claim can help narrow your choice, but it does not tell you whether the drink contains sweeteners. Check the ingredients and nutrition panel for the exact flavour you intend to buy.
If the run forms part of prolonged exercise, make separate decisions about fluids and carbohydrate. World Athletics’ endurance-event guidance varies carbohydrate intake by exercise duration; a bottle of water should not be assumed to supply fuel.
Decide where you will use the bottle, then check the exact drink’s label and the demands of your whole exercise session.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking conditions | Consider heat, humidity, intensity and time spent exercising. The NHS advises extra fluids after sweating through physical activity; Better Health Channel notes that fluid needs vary with conditions and duration. | On a hotter or longer outing, I want to think about drinking across the whole session rather than assume one bottle amount fits every run. |
| Sugar and ingredients | Read the claim, ingredients and sugars per 100ml on the exact flavour. Tesco lists sucralose in Highland Spring Lemon & Lime Sugar Free; Volvic lists acesulfame K and sucralose in Touch of Fruit Sugar Free Strawberry 750ml. | I would like flavour without added sugar, but I also want to know whether the drink contains sweeteners. If I want neither flavourings nor sweeteners, I can choose plain water. |
| Fluid or fuel | Check carbohydrate per 100ml rather than treating a flavoured drink as fuel. World Athletics’ endurance-event guidance lists 0–20g carbohydrate per hour for 45–75 minutes of exercise and 30–60g per hour for 1–2.5 hours. | If my 5k is part of a longer workout, I want to plan any carbohydrate separately from the water I drink. |
| Bottle format | Match the bottle to where you will use it: UK retailer listings include 500ml bottles as well as 1.5L, 2L and 5L formats. Check whether you want one bottle to carry or a larger supply to keep at home. | A smaller bottle is easier for me to take out for a run; a larger bottle or multipack makes more sense if I will drink it at home. |
Volvic Touch of Fruit Sugar Free Strawberry 750ml lists 0g carbohydrate per 100ml, as does Tesco’s listing for Highland Spring Lemon & Lime Sugar Free. Those drinks do not provide carbohydrate from the water.
Choose a drink for fluids, then consider the duration of the full exercise session when planning any carbohydrate separately.
A drink can contain sweeteners without containing added sugar. The listed Highland Spring Lemon & Lime and Volvic Sugar Free Strawberry examples both contain sweeteners.
Read the ingredients as well as the front-of-pack claim; choose plain water if you want to avoid sweeteners.
A 1.5L to 5L bottle is more cumbersome to carry during a 5k than a 500ml bottle, even though the larger format may suit use at home.
Choose the format for where you will drink it, not just the type of water inside.
Better Health Channel notes that climate, clothing, exercise intensity and duration affect fluid needs. A routine 5k and a longer session in hot conditions are not the same situation.
Reconsider what you will drink when the conditions or length of your session change.
These ranges illustrate different label and bottle-format choices; a brand name alone does not establish the ingredients of every product it sells.
Offers plain still water alongside flavoured options.
A natural mineral-water range with different bottle formats in UK retail listings.
Offers plain mineral water and a separate Touch of Fruit Sugar Free range.
Offers natural mineral water in still and sparkling formats.
Its own-label British natural mineral water appears alongside branded and flavoured waters.
Lists own-label plain spring water separately from no-added-sugar flavoured waters.
These options include 500ml bottles that may be easier to take to a 5k and larger bottles for use at home. Check the exact pack’s sugar information and ingredients when those details affect your choice.
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Six 500ml bottles offer a smaller format to carry around a run. The name identifies this strawberry-flavoured water as sugar free; check the exact pack’s ingredients if you want to avoid sweeteners, and its carbohydrate declaration if you are planning fuel.
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The 500ml bottles are a carryable format. This is sparkling water, so consider whether carbonation is comfortable for you close to or during a run; check the exact pack label for any nutrition details you need.
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This plain still-water multipack is a format to keep at home or drink after a run. Each 1.5L bottle is less convenient to carry during a 5k than a smaller bottle.
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This is a still, flavoured option in a 1.25L bottle, more suited to keeping nearby than carrying throughout a 5k. Check this flavour’s ingredients, sugar claim and per-100ml nutrition panel rather than relying on information for another Highland Spring flavour.
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Six individual 500ml bottles give you a smaller format to take out for a run. Check the exact pack’s still-or-sparkling description and label if its ingredients or nutrition declaration matter to your choice.
Do not assume it provides carbohydrate fuel. Volvic lists 0g carbohydrate per 100ml for Touch of Fruit Sugar Free Strawberry 750ml, and Tesco lists the same value for Highland Spring Lemon & Lime Sugar Free. World Athletics’ endurance-event guidance varies carbohydrate intake by the duration of the full exercise session, so make that decision separately from choosing water.
No. A no-added-sugar claim does not mean a drink is unsweetened: Tesco lists sucralose in Highland Spring Lemon & Lime Sugar Free, while Volvic lists acesulfame K and sucralose in Touch of Fruit Sugar Free Strawberry 750ml. Read the ingredients of the exact product if you want to avoid sweeteners.
Choose the format you find comfortable to drink. Still water avoids carbonation, which some runners may find uncomfortable close to or during a run; that comfort consideration does not establish that sparkling water hydrates less effectively.
Reconsider your drinking plan when heat, clothing, intensity or exercise duration changes. Better Health Channel identifies these as factors affecting fluid needs; if a medical condition or medicine affects yours, seek individual professional advice.
A 500ml bottle is a more practical carrying format than a 1.5L to 5L bottle for many run-day situations. Larger bottles and multipacks can instead serve as a supply to keep at home; choose according to where you intend to drink the water.