By Sebastian Madlangbayan, founder of Cleonse: the world's cleanest 3-ingredient organic electrolyte.
There is no single best electrolyte for runners, because sweat sodium varies roughly tenfold between people and your carb needs change with distance. The short version: sugar-based mixes for runs over an hour, high-sodium zero-carb for low-carb runners and heavy sweaters, and nothing at all for most runs under 45 minutes.
I make one of the products in this roundup. I've flagged that clearly and I've tried to be useful rather than promotional, including in the places where something else is the better pick.
Start here: the two numbers that decide everything
Every recommendation downstream depends on two variables, and almost every "best electrolytes" article skips both.
1. Your sweat sodium concentration
This is how salty your sweat is, and it's mostly genetic. It doesn't track with fitness, body size, sport, or how much you sweat overall.
The range is enormous. Precision Fuel & Hydration's database of over 30,000 sweat tests spans roughly 200 mg/L to over 2,300 mg/L, with an average around 950 mg/L. That's more than a tenfold spread. Two runners doing the same session in the same weather can lose wildly different amounts of sodium.
Rough self-assessment, in the absence of a test:
| Sign | Likely category |
|---|---|
| White crust on your face, hat, or black kit after a run | Salty sweater, probably above average |
| Sweat stings your eyes badly | Higher sodium |
| Sweat tastes distinctly salty | Higher sodium |
| Cramping late in long runs despite drinking | Possibly high sodium loss |
| No residue, sweat tastes like water | Lower sodium, likely under 800 mg/L |
Not a lab test, but directionally useful. If you race long, a real sweat test is worth the money once.
2. Your sweat rate
Weigh yourself naked before a run and after, in the same conditions. Every 1 kg lost is roughly 1 litre of sweat. Add back any fluid you drank during the run. Do it two or three times across different temperatures.
Typical runners land between 0.5 and 2.0 L/hour. Heat, humidity and pace all push it up.
Sodium loss per hour = sweat rate (L/h) × sweat sodium (mg/L). A runner at 1.2 L/h and 1,200 mg/L is losing about 1,440mg of sodium an hour. A runner at 0.7 L/h and 500 mg/L is losing 350mg. Those two people should not buy the same product, and that's the entire reason this category is confusing.
The picks
Best for training runs and long runs: Cleonse
This is mine. Read it with that in mind.
Three ingredients: organic lemon or strawberry powder, organic cane sugar, French grey sea salt. Per 30g stick in 16 oz (473 ml): 500mg sodium, 85+ trace minerals, 100 calories, 26g carbohydrate, 24g sugar. No stevia, no artificial sweeteners, no natural flavors, no dyes, no preservatives, no gums, no fillers. Vegan, gluten-free. $33/10, $66/30, $110/60, free shipping, 30-day guarantee.
Why it works for running: sodium and carbohydrate in one bottle, at doses that stack cleanly. 500mg is a deliberate midpoint — enough to matter, low enough that two sticks over a two-hour run (1,000mg sodium, 52g carbohydrate) lands you in the recommended fueling band rather than overshooting sodium. A 1,000mg-per-stick product doesn't give you that granularity.
Where it loses: it's 100 calories, which is wrong for anyone who wants zero-carb hydration. It has no potassium or magnesium listed on the panel. It's more expensive per serving than bulk canisters. And for very salty sweaters on hot marathon days, 500mg per bottle may mean drinking a lot of bottles.
Best for low-carb and fasted runners: LMNT
Flavored LMNT is "Salt (Sodium Chloride), Citric Acid, Magnesium Malate, Potassium Chloride, Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors, Stevia Leaf Extract" — six ingredients, 1,000mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60mg magnesium, essentially zero carbohydrate. LMNT Raw drops the flavors and stevia entirely: three ingredients, no sweetener.
Why it works: if you run fasted, run keto, or you're a genuinely salty sweater doing an easy long run where you don't want fuel, 1,000mg of sodium in one stick is efficient and the formula is clean.
Where it loses: no fuel. Past 60 to 90 minutes at any real intensity you'll need carbohydrate from somewhere else — gels, chews, food. That's a perfectly good strategy, it's just two products instead of one. And the flavored versions use stevia, which some runners can't tolerate mid-run. I compared these two in detail in Cleonse vs LMNT.
Best for heavy sweaters who want carbs: Precision Fuel & Hydration PH 1500
Label: "Sugar, Mineral Salts (Tri-Sodium Citrate, Potassium Chloride), Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid), Natural Flavors, Calcium, Magnesium." Per sachet in 16 oz: 750mg sodium, 125mg potassium, 61 calories, 15g carbohydrate. The name refers to 1,500mg sodium per litre.
Why it works: highest sodium among sugar-sweetened options, no high-intensity sweetener, and a company that has done more sweat-testing research than anyone. If you're a salty sweater who also wants some carbohydrate, this is the most targeted product on the list.
Where it loses: 15g of carbohydrate is a light fuel dose — it's a hydration product with a little sugar, not a fueling product. Natural flavors on the label. Availability outside specialty running retail can be patchy.
Best real-food option: Skratch Labs Sport Hydration
Label (mango): "Cane Sugar, Sodium Citrate, Dextrose, Mango Powder, Citric Acid, Calcium Citrate, Magnesium Carbonate, Potassium Citrate, Ascorbic Acid." Per 22g scoop in 12–16 oz: 400mg sodium, 80mg potassium, 100mg calcium, 80mg magnesium, 80 calories, ~19g carbohydrate. About $1.20 a serving.
Why it works: real fruit powder, real sugar, no high-intensity sweetener, a full four-mineral profile, and a deliberately dilute mix that most people find easy on the stomach. Skratch was founded by a physiologist who worked with pro cycling teams, and it shows.
Where it loses: 400mg sodium is on the low side for salty sweaters. Nine ingredients rather than three. Mixed in 12 oz it's more concentrated than the label suggests.
Best budget option at scale: Redmond Re-Lyte Unflavored
No sweetener at all, 1,000mg sodium and 500mg potassium per serving, $45.99 for 75 servings — about $0.61 a serving, the cheapest genuinely clean option here.
Why it works: if you can drink unflavored salt water, you're getting a strong dose from unrefined Real Salt for less than a dollar. Hard to argue with.
Where it loses: it's unflavored salt water. Most people won't drink it consistently. The flavored Re-Lyte is 10 ingredients including stevia. I go through that one in Cleonse vs Re-Lyte.
Best widely available: Gatorade Endurance Formula
Higher sodium than regular Gatorade. Per canister serving (24g powder in 12 oz): 90 calories, 22g carbohydrate, 300mg sodium, 140mg potassium. The single-serve packet makes 24 oz and delivers about 600mg sodium and 280mg potassium.
Why it works: it's at every aid station, every grocery store, and every marathon expo, and it has decades of testing behind it. If it's what's on the course, train with it — the worst race-day mistake is a gut that's never seen the aid station drink.
Where it loses: long ingredient list with dyes and flavor systems. If the reason you're here is label quality, this isn't the answer. I broke it down in Cleonse vs Gatorade.
Worth knowing: Nuun Sport
Tablets, 300mg sodium, 150mg potassium, 25mg magnesium, 15 calories, stevia-sweetened, ~12 ingredients. Extremely portable and cheap per serving.
Why it works: the tube fits anywhere, and for short runs in moderate heat where you want a bit of sodium and no fuel, 300mg is plenty.
Where it loses: 300mg is too little for a long or hot run, and there's essentially no carbohydrate.
Side by side
| Sodium | Carbs | Ingredients | Sweetener | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleonse | 500mg | 26g | 3 | Organic cane sugar | Runs 45 min–3 hr, fuel + sodium in one |
| LMNT | 1,000mg | ~0g | 6 (Raw: 3) | Stevia (Raw: none) | Fasted, keto, easy long runs |
| Precision PH 1500 | 750mg | 15g | ~7 | Sugar | Salty sweaters wanting some carbs |
| Skratch Sport | 400mg | 19g | 9 | Cane sugar + dextrose | Sensitive stomachs, real-food preference |
| Re-Lyte Unflavored | 1,000mg | 0g | ~5 | None | Budget, high sodium, taste-tolerant |
| Gatorade Endurance | 300mg/12oz | 22g | 12+ | Sugar | Race-day availability |
| Nuun Sport | 300mg | ~1g | ~12 | Stevia | Short runs, portability |
A practical protocol by run length
Adjust for heat and for your own sweat numbers. These are starting points, not prescriptions.
Under 45 minutes
Water. That's it. You don't need electrolytes for a 5K or an easy half-hour shakeout unless it's genuinely hot. The idea that every run requires a hydration product is a marketing artifact.
45–75 minutes
Water for most people. If it's hot, or you're a salty sweater, one bottle with 300–500mg sodium. Carbohydrate is optional here — the research suggests small amounts or even a carb mouth rinse can help at this duration, but it isn't required.
75 minutes–2 hours
Now it matters. Target roughly 30g carbohydrate per hour and 300–800mg sodium per hour, scaled to your sweat. One Cleonse stick per hour lands at 26g carbohydrate and 500mg sodium, which is squarely in that band. Salty sweaters should add a second sodium source or use a higher-sodium product.
2–3 hours
Target ~60g carbohydrate per hour, which is about the ceiling for a single carbohydrate source. In practice that's one electrolyte drink plus one gel per hour, or two sticks per hour if your stomach handles the volume. Sodium 500–1,200mg/hour depending on sweat rate and concentration.
3+ hours (marathon and ultra)
Target up to 90g carbohydrate per hour, which requires multiple transportable carbohydrates — glucose plus fructose — because the glucose transporter saturates around 60g/hour. Sucrose (cane sugar) splits into glucose and fructose, so it counts toward that mix, but you'll still need dedicated multi-carb fuel to hit 90g. Sodium goes to 800–1,500mg/hour for salty sweaters.
At this distance, hydration and fueling stop being separable problems. Build a plan, practice it in training, and don't try anything new on race day.
Post-run
Sodium helps you retain the fluid you drink afterwards — plain water in large volume just makes you urinate. A salted drink with some carbohydrate does double duty on rehydration and glycogen. This is the one case where I'd say a sugar-containing electrolyte is clearly better than a zero-sugar one.
Three mistakes I see constantly
Overhydrating with plain water. Drinking large volumes of water without sodium during a long hot run dilutes blood sodium, and in the extreme case that's exercise-associated hyponatremia, which is genuinely dangerous and disproportionately affects slower marathoners who drink at every aid station. Drink to thirst, and put sodium in the bottle on long efforts.
Copying someone else's sodium. The tenfold spread in sweat sodium means the protocol that works for your training partner may be twice or half what you need. Their cramping fix is not necessarily your cramping fix.
Trying something new on race day. Your gut is trainable and it's also stubborn. Whatever you're going to drink at mile 18, drink it at mile 18 of a training run first. Several times.
Try The World's Cleanest Electrolyte™
Three ingredients. 500mg sodium. Nothing artificial. Free shipping and a 30-day guarantee.
Shop CleonseFrequently asked questions
What electrolytes should runners take? It depends on distance and how salty your sweat is. Under 45 minutes, water is usually enough. Past an hour, aim for 300–800mg sodium and around 30g of carbohydrate per hour, rising to 60g/hour past two hours and up to 90g/hour past three. Sugar-containing mixes cover both jobs; zero-sugar mixes cover sodium only and need separate fuel.
How much sodium do runners lose per hour? Sweat sodium ranges from about 200 mg/L to over 2,300 mg/L across athletes, averaging around 950 mg/L. At a typical sweat rate of 0.5–2.0 L/hour, that means hourly sodium losses anywhere from roughly 100mg to over 4,000mg. The spread is why generic recommendations fail.
Do I need electrolytes for a 5K? No. A 5K is too short for meaningful sodium loss or glycogen depletion for almost everyone. Water before and after is fine. In extreme heat you might want sodium beforehand, but during the run it makes no difference.
Is Gatorade good for runners? Gatorade Endurance Formula is a reasonable functional choice — the sodium is higher than standard Gatorade and it's available everywhere, including on most race courses. Training with what's on the course is genuinely smart. The objection to it is label quality, not function: it has a long ingredient list including dyes and flavor systems.
Should runners use electrolytes with sugar or without? With, for anything over about an hour, because carbohydrate is fuel and glucose also helps carry sodium across the gut wall. Without, for short runs, fasted runs, low-carb athletes, and recovery days. Many runners sensibly use both depending on the session.
What's the best electrolyte for marathon training? For most people, a sodium-plus-carbohydrate mix on long runs and a lighter or zero-carb option on easy days. Whatever you choose, practice with your exact race-day combination during training, and know roughly what your sweat rate is in the conditions you'll race in.
Keep reading
- How much sodium do athletes actually need?
- Cleonse vs Nuun: which clean electrolyte fits your training?
- What is the cleanest electrolyte? A no-BS ingredient guide
Cleonse: three ingredients, 500mg sodium, 26g carbohydrate as organic cane sugar. Built to be stacked across a long run. $33 for 10 sticks, $66 for 30, $110 for 60, free shipping, 30-day guarantee. See the product.
Editor's note and sources
I make Cleonse, one of the products reviewed above. Competitor labels and figures were read from current public product pages in July 2026 and are quoted verbatim where the source published a full panel. Formulas and prices change; verify before buying. No brand paid for placement here and there are no affiliate links.
- Sweat sodium ranges and testing, Precision Fuel & Hydration: https://www.precisionhydration.com/performance-advice/hydration/how-to-estimate-sweat-salt-loss/
- Baker LB, sweat testing methodology, Gatorade Sports Science Institute: https://www.gssiweb.org/docs/default-source/sse-docs/baker_sse_161.pdf
- Jeukendrup A. "A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During Exercise," Sports Medicine 44 (S1), 2014: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-014-0148-z
- ACSM Position Stand, Exercise and Fluid Replacement: https://www.khsaa.org/sportsmedicine/heat/exerciseandfluidreplacement.pdf
- LMNT ingredients by flavor: https://help.drinklmnt.com/en-US/what-are-the-ingredients-in-each-flavor-of-lmnt-494344
- Precision Fuel & Hydration PH 1500 (The Feed): https://thefeed.com/products/precision-fuel-and-hydration-powder-ph-1500
- Skratch Labs Sport Hydration Drink Mix: https://www.skratchlabs.com/products/sport-hydration-drink-mix
- Redmond Life Re-Lyte Hydration: https://living.redmond.com/products/re-lyte-hydration
- Gatorade Endurance Formula lemon-lime powder: https://www.gatorade.com/powders/endurance-formula/lemon-lime-powder-32-oz-canister
- Nuun Sport: https://nuunlife.com/products/nuun-sport
Nothing here is medical advice. Cleonse supports hydration; it does not treat, cure, or prevent any condition. If you have a medical condition affecting sodium or fluid balance, talk to a doctor before changing your intake.