I'd say get to the doctor to figure out what's up. I had some pretty awful issues and ended up with the official diagnosis of ulcerative colitis . Nothing like going to the toilet multiple times before running, just to have to stop IMMEDIATELY while running to deal with issues.

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"There's good all around you, you just have to be able to see it".

Have you tried to "cleanse" the day before your long run? I would assume once it is out, it is out and will take some time to load up again.

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DISH is how we do it.

Hi Jen,

It sounds like you are taking the right steps, looking at your wheat and dairy intake. Do you ingest any artificial sweeteners (splenda in coffee, sugarfree gum, 'light' yogurt, etc)? If you do, try stopping those immediately. They all have mild to moderate laxative effects, especially on those with finicky tummies.

PM me if you have any questions ...I have tried it all when it comes to having a misbehaving stomach.

Good luck!

I have found that if I eat my dinner the day before a race a lot earlier (like 4pm instead of 7 or 8) I get more of the back-end "out" well before racing. I also find not eating before running helps (I tend to eat breakfast after 9am daily, even if up at 6am). Less to push out I guess.

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Hey Jen,
I feel your pain. I have the exact same problem except I have never had it happen during a race. I have been to my regular doctor and a GI doctor and the final diagnosis just ended up being IBS...no solution.

On my long runs, I have just accepted that this is going to happen. What gets frustrating is when I have a short run and have to stop multiple times. How much crap can a colon hold?!

For races, I give myself much more time to prepare. I get up at least 3 hours before start time to eat and drink my coffee, well technically I drink fake coffee to avoid the caffeine and acidity of regular coffee that can irritate my stomach. Then I go to the restroom, #2, usually twice, and then I'll take an Immodium. Taking Immodium can have side effects so if you choose to try this route, start with half a pill and see how it works for you. I did a half-mary this weekend with this routine (2 pills) and it worked great, no problems at all. I did have to pee countless times before the race started and also pooped one more time after taking the Immodium, but I had started early enough to have time for all of that.

I limit the Immodium to once per week just so I don't get backed up taking it for every run. Also, I don't eat any lettuce 24 hours before a run as I find that it really loosens things up even more.

Good luck, as others have said, try playing around with your diet too. I hope that you are able to find some cause that you can deal with, unlike me who just has to deal with the effect!

I used to have this problem. And even now I know that 30 minutes into an IM run I will have to find a bathroom. I don't try to avoid it, I just find one and then run on.

But I started to increase my probiotic intake and it made a difference in just normal training, I was okay not running laps around the park with a bathroom that I had to use every 30 minutes.

Hope you don't mind if a guy replies. I was a distance runner for many years, and had this experience when I was doing high mileage for a marathon. Turns out the culprit in my case was coffee. I still drink it, but very limited quantities. If I have more than one full cup a day, start to get digestive issues.

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Cervelo R3 and Cannondale Synapse, Argon18 Electron Track Bike

My husband also has issues with coffee... well, I guess its not really an issue. He uses it more when he has the opposite problem... it makes him go without fail.

This is a subject very dear to my heart... I have lost count of the number of times I have had to poo in the bush or run into a cafe/restaurant/hairdresser/mall/medical centre/petrol station/etc to defile their toilet. And then move on to the next one 1km down the road...
BUT what I have recently found is that my problem 90% of the time is linked to dehydration. I do my long run after doing 1-2hrs on the bike with a snack in between but not drinking any extra. Once I started drinking more on the bike in anticipation of running plus washing down whatever I eat in between riding and running with a glass of water I've been almost completely poo-free on my long runs. Now I just have to stop for wees all the time due to be being super hydrated but that is much easier to deal with.
I do still occasionally have the odd moment especially if I am running at the end of the day and have all kinds of food working its way down.
The anxiety of going for a run (especially somewhere new or with people who aren't used to my problems) and worrying about if it was going to be a poo-run or not was starting to get to me.
So have a look at your hydration and hopefully it will help:)

Just a quick clarification question - does it happen no matter what time of the day? Or just on your morning runs (assuming those races were in the morning too)?

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Nadie dijo que la vida sería fácil, sólo dijeron que valdría la pena.

Aaaahhhh....I feel your pain!
Eat an early, early dinner. Load up the previous day before lunch (ie. breakfast/lunch). Eat a small, light, early dinner...I eat rice and tofu or rice and chicken. But, do not stuff yourself w/dinner. Eat a small, light, early breakfast. Coffee works for me but not too much. Definitely work on hydration because I think that is a factor. Then, use Immodium during/before the race. Try out different dinner ideas....I think there is something to avoiding whatever is in gum, diet soda, etc.
Good luck!

KK

Thank you all so much for your posts. I truly appreciate it.

You know...as I look back...yep, most of my runs are in the am, especially the races (obviously).

I am generally a workout in the am person. When I do go longer than 30 minutes...that is when it happens. I do think the dehydration plays a role AND my food at night. I usually would do a salad with some protein but may have to go for the rice/chicken and then a salad at lunch the day before.

Like I said in my original post..."This stinks"...no pun intended ;)

But thanks to you all for your help! Keep it coming!!

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Jen Rulon
Chasing that Kona Dream since 1989

Generally speaking, after 45+ marathons, is that fiber is NOT your friend, especially 72 hours before racing.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

"Running is the surest and safest form of laxative known to mankind"

Another guy here, anyways I had the same problem and found avoiding dairy and fiber the day before helps, but what works the best for me is 1 imodium pill the night before and 1 when I wake up. It typically wears off later that day. I am a big guy 230lbs so 1 pill might work for you. Hope this helps

I had the same problem last year. I gave up wheat and gluten, but that wasn't it. It was coffee. So, I just skip coffee on long run and race days.

I know how you feel and it's frustrating. Watch your intake of veggies before a long run. I cannot eat salad the day before...it will guarantee a bathroom stop.

This is why I like running...it keeps me regular but it keeps me regular at the wrong times. I make sure to take a paper towel with me and put it in my sports bra. It's like a handy wipe. I can't believe I wrote that.

I have a few different triggers. If I am overly anxious about my run (or race) that can cause issues. If I ate something high in fat, I will ALWAYS have problems- peanut butter is the worst for me. I can't eat any peanut butter within 10 hours of a run, or else I literally can't run.

Before races, though, I actually drink coffee BECAUSE it causes me to use the bathroom. That way, I make sure to go 3-4 times, and usually don't have any problems in a race.

Someone once told me that her doctor said to try taking antihistamines before running, and that could help. I have no idea why, but she said it worked.

I used to live in a heavy populated area, so I made sure to know where all of the home construction was happening so I could sneak into a porta-potty. Now- I've got the woods :)

When I drink coffee, I'm finding a bathroom within 45 minutes without fail. This could be part of your problem as well.

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Try a "show stopper" 2 imodium + 2 peptos an hour before your run/races.

http://fellrnr.com/...nd_Lower_GI_Problems

A guy I know put this site together after me asking this same question on an ultralist I subscribe to. What has made a big difference to me is getting rid of all fake sugar and drinking filtered water. I think my stomach didn't like the town water so I don't touch it unless it gets heated first like when making coffee. I've also stayed hydrated which seems to help. I still have occasional problems but usually my hour runs are fine.

The food advice on this thread has been good. I tried the no gluten leading up to the race but it didn't seem to have an effect.

Good luck on finding a solution. I know how frustrating it is to look at your finish time and know you ran faster than that.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

One of our tri series sponsors has a runner's diarrhea/runner's trots product called Prev: http://www.preventprevail.com They say it tightens the pores of the stomach to minimize water pass-through, which causes the trots.

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Chris Bowerbank
USAT Level II Certified Race Director
http://www.triutah.com

Just happened to see this and actually just read a post on the same exact thing: http://www.myraceragz.com/blog
but I have heard the sugar alcohols / fake sugars definitely play a part in this.

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http://www.MyRaceRagz.com

"What will you wear on your next race day"

:-( This happened to me ... I have run 40 marathons, and NEVER had to stop to poop. Until last month. Don't know why, but at mile 21 I HAD got a really bad feeling and had to stop. At least it WASN'T just gas! But I lost my age group win, and thus a free entry into next year's marathon. So my pit stop cost me over $100 ... :-( I still don't know why it happened. After so many marathons I thought I knew how to control digestive issues ... ?

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The road goes on forever and the party never ends