: Taking 'salt tablets' when running longer distances I'm running a marathon in March (my 5th overall) and the last marathon I suffered with severe cramp after 23 miles. I've been advised to take 'salt tablets' by another runner.

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The main reason behind taking salt is because sodium helps regulate the body's fluid levels.
If you run for longer periods of time and sweat a lot, you will also lose sodium(Your sweat tastes salty if it has ever dripped into your mouth).

The loss of salt is also connected to other running problems, like cramping.
Basically if your body runs low on sodium, you are in danger of getting over hydrated, which is not good.

I guess you should talk with some doctor about it, because it highly depends on you. Are you a heavy sweater? How long do you run? How old are you? How much water do you drink? etc. etc.
These are questions that i sadly can not answer and contacting an expert will give you a more detailed answer, on how much salt you should consume. Because too much could be even worse, than lacking it.

I'am pretty sure tho, that regular salt will do just as well, and the need for tablets is just not there. But i guess they are effective, if you want to ingest them mid run.

At the end of the day, you must try. If it works for you good, if it doesn't, don't do it.