For an ordinary recreational 5k, choose plain sparkling water or an unsweetened flavoured variety if you want a fizzy drink for fluid intake without relying on it for carbohydrate fuel. A no-added-sugar flavoured drink may still contain naturally occurring sugar or sweeteners; for harder exercise lasting more than an hour, the British Dietetic Association says carbohydrate during exercise can enhance performance.
If you want fizz around a run, separate the drink’s role in fluid intake from any need for carbohydrate. The British Dietetic Association identifies carbohydrate as fuel for exercising muscles; plain sparkling water is not a carbohydrate drink.
Flavoured options differ: some contain neither sugar nor sweeteners, while others include juice or a sweetener. The NHS suggests sparkling water as an option for people who do not like the taste of plain water.
A fizzy water choice does not settle your carbohydrate needs. The British Dietetic Association says carbohydrate during exercise can enhance performance when exercise is hard and lasts longer than an hour.
Decide whether you want plain water, flavour without sweeteners, or a no-added-sugar drink with other ingredients. Then check the pack rather than treating those descriptions as interchangeable.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Fluid without added sugar | Check whether the drink is plain sparkling water or a flavoured soft drink. Read the ingredients and sugars per 100ml and per bottle. | I want a fizzy drink around a 5k without choosing a sugary soft drink. The NHS suggests sparkling water as an alternative when plain water does not appeal. |
| Carbohydrate fuel | Check carbohydrate per serving if you expect the drink to provide fuel. The British Dietetic Association says carbohydrate during exercise can enhance performance when exercise is hard and lasts longer than an hour. | For a demanding or longer session, I need to consider carbohydrate separately; plain sparkling water serves a different purpose. |
| Sugars and sweeteners | Read the ingredients for juice and sweeteners, and compare sugars per 100ml with sugars per bottle. Tesco lists 1.0g sugars per 500ml bottle and sucralose for its Apple & Raspberry drink. | I may want flavour without either sugars or sweeteners, or I may be comfortable with a drink containing juice or sucralose. “No added sugar” alone does not answer that question. |
| Fizz and format | Check the serving size and whether the container suits when and where you plan to drink it. Try carbonation during training before depending on it mid-run. | If fizz feels uncomfortable while I run, I would rather have the sparkling drink at another time and use a drink I tolerate during the run. |
Plain sparkling water provides fluid but not meaningful carbohydrate. That distinction matters if you expect your drink to fuel a hard or long session.
Use the British Dietetic Association’s exercise guidance to consider carbohydrate separately when training is hard and lasts longer than an hour.
Products with that claim can still differ. Tesco’s Apple & Raspberry sparkling drink lists juice concentrate and sucralose; Sanpellegrino says its Zero Added Sugar drinks contain naturally occurring sugar.
Read both the ingredients and the nutrition panel. If you want neither sugars nor sweeteners, check the exact flavour rather than relying on the front-of-pack claim.
Whether carbonation feels comfortable during a run is a personal consideration that the product label cannot resolve.
Try the drink during an ordinary training session. If you dislike fizz while running, keep it for before or after the run.
A no-added-sugar name does not specify the sugars per serving or whether a sweetener is present in a particular flavour.
Check the current pack’s ingredients, nutrition panel and serving size, especially when choosing a multipack you plan to drink regularly.
These examples illustrate different drink types; a brand name alone does not tell you what is in a particular bottle or can.
A plain sparkling spring-water option rather than a flavoured soft drink.
A plain carbonated mineral-water option.
A mineral-water range that also includes Essenza flavoured sparkling water.
A flavoured sparkling-drink route for shoppers who prefer fruit-led flavour.
Own-label flavoured sparkling drinks, including no-added-sugar 500ml bottle formats.
These products are plain sparkling water options for shoppers who want fizz around a 5k. They do not represent the unsweetened flavoured or no-added-sugar soft-drink routes discussed above.
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A plain sparkling mineral-water choice for fluid intake around a 5k, rather than carbohydrate fuel. The pack contains six 0.5L bottles; decide whether fizz suits you during a run.
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A plain sparkling spring-water option if you want a defined bottle size for drinking around a run. This pack contains eight 500ml bottles; it is a fluid choice, not a source of carbohydrate fuel.
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A sparkling-water format to consider for fluid intake around a 5k. The pack contains eight 500ml bottles; choose separately how to meet any carbohydrate needs for harder training.
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A sparkling-water option if a resealable format matters when carrying a drink. The pack contains twelve 500ml containers; try the carbonation during training before relying on it mid-run.
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A larger-bottle sparkling-water option for drinking around training rather than carrying a single serving on a run. The pack contains six 1L bottles; the water does not replace carbohydrate fuel.
Plain sparkling water provides fluid, not meaningful carbohydrate fuel. The British Dietetic Association identifies carbohydrate as fuel for exercising muscles and says carbohydrate during exercise can enhance performance when exercise is hard and lasts longer than an hour.
Yes, if you find carbonation comfortable at the time you drink it. The NHS suggests sparkling water for people who do not like plain water; try it during training before choosing it for mid-run drinking.
No: a drink can contain naturally occurring sugar. Sanpellegrino says its Zero Added Sugar drinks do, while Tesco lists 1.0g sugars per 500ml bottle for its Apple & Raspberry sparkling drink. Check sugars on the nutrition panel as well as the front-of-pack wording.
Check the ingredients of the exact product. S.Pellegrino describes Essenza as containing no sugars or sweeteners, whereas Tesco lists sucralose in its Apple & Raspberry and Lemon & Lime no-added-sugar sparkling drinks.
Check the serving size, sugars per bottle and ingredients for each flavour, then choose a container size that suits when you plan to drink it. A multipack’s no-added-sugar name does not tell you whether its drinks contain juice or a sweetener.