If a runner gets low on salt during a long race, drinking a strong saltwater mix might help boost their sodium levels quickly before they get to a hospital.

Even if endurance runners take a lot of salt pills during long races, drinking too much water — like 10 liters — can still give them a dangerous condition called low blood sodium. Salt alone won’t protect you if you’re chugging way too much water.

Even if endurance runners take in a lot of salt, they can still develop low blood sodium if they drink too much water — it’s the overdrinking, not the salt intake, that’s the main problem.

If endurance athletes get a serious condition from low sodium during long exercise, giving them a strong salt solution quickly can help them recover faster and feel better, but giving them regular IV fluids might make things worse.

Some athletes who do long, tough workouts like marathons or triathlons can end up with low sodium in their blood — a condition called exercise-associated hyponatremia — and it’s actually pretty common depending on the event.

You won’t get low sodium symptoms from sweating during long workouts unless you drink way too much water — so replacing sodium isn’t the most important thing to prevent this issue.