What drinks are provided during the race, and where?

• Start and finish: "Water and other suitable refreshments shall be available at the start and finish of all races."
• Water: "For all events, water shall be available at suitable intervals of approximately 5km."
• Longer than 10 km: "refreshments other than water may be made available at these points".
• More often: stations may be closer together where the conditions call for it.
• What counts as refreshment: drinks, energy supplements, food or anything else other than water. The organisers decide what they will provide.
• Whose drinks: normally the organisers'. They may permit athletes to provide their own, and the athlete then names the stations where each is to be put out.
• Personal drinks are guarded: an athlete's own refreshments are kept under the supervision of officials from the moment they are handed in, so that they "are not altered or tampered with in any way".
• The station area: marked out with barriers, tables or lines on the ground. It should not be directly on the measured line of the route.
• Reaching the drinks: they are placed where athletes can pick them up easily, or put into their hands by authorised persons.
• Where helpers stand: they "shall remain inside the designated area and not enter the course nor obstruct any athlete".
• No running alongside: "No official or authorised person shall, under any circumstances, move beside an athlete while they are taking refreshment or water."
• How many helpers: at the top competitions, no more than two officials from each member federation at one time inside the area.
• Mist stations: may also be arranged where the conditions make them appropriate.

Drink is a matter of safety over these distances, so the rules require it. They also control it. Fixed stations and guarded bottles mean every athlete has the same chances to drink and nobody's drink can be interfered with. Keeping helpers still stops a handover from turning into pacing or coaching on the move.