This weekends racing in Sabie at the MTN marathon and ultra marathon produced some extreme conditions that really test hydration strategies in endurance events. The high temperatures combined with over 60% humidity are a recipe for dehydration. Many participants of the marathon event took 8hrs to finish and the ultra riders were out for anything between 5 and 9 hours. In these conditions unless you have a bullet proof hydration plan you are going to get caught out.
For a two hour ride you could get away with just a bottle of water, for a 4 hr ride maybe a couple of bottles of energy drink, but for an 8 hour epic ride in heat conditions like this you are looking at 8+ bottles of some quality endurance drink. With water pouring out of your body at more than a litre an hour you have to make sure that you are at least replacing the lost salts and then also try to get in enough fluid and some carbs to keep your energy up. Because once you get on the wrong side of the dehydration curve and your appetite and thirst is suppressed and nausea sets in then you are on the brink of shut down, no matter how fit or strong you are. This interesting article Dehydration insport: why it is vital an athlete maintains hydration levels duringexercise gives an informative and well explained background to dehydration.
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