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Question:

Okay, here’s the situation.  My wife has a, to her, very embarrassing problem with her training runs and in some ‘races.’ She has run in several 5Ks but has been unsuccessful at training for longer runs because she gets diarrhea, and we’re talking serious liquid diarrhea here, at about 1 – 2 miles.  It doesn’t always hit, but does about 50% of the time.  We’ve tried running at different times of days, we’ve tried different foods, different liquids, different eating cycles, etc., etc.

Try doing some stretching and warmup exercises (including sit-ups– always useful, and works on the stomach directly to get the digestive system going, and see if you can’t get the stuff out before you actually start out on a run. Maurits

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Another way to "get the stuff out before you run" is to do a warmup run of, say, a mile or so before your main run. That gets your system into running mode, and gives you that opportunity for one last potty-stop before you’re too far from home. -Paul

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| Okay, here’s the situation.  My wife has a, to her, very embarrassing | problem with her training runs and in some ‘races.’ She has run in several | 5Ks but has been unsuccessful at training for longer runs because she gets | diarrhea, and we’re talking serious liquid diarrhea here, at about 1 – 2 | miles.  It doesn’t always hit, but does about 50% of the time.  We’ve | tried running at different times of days, we’ve tried different foods, | different liquids, different eating cycles, etc., etc. | | She’s ready to give up running, but really loves it.  She asked mew to | confer with my "friends on the net, to solve her dilemma.  How about? | What does she try now? | There is a section of "The Lore of Running" written just for her.  The gist of it is, try cutting out all dairy products for some period before running. I would first cut them out altogether and see if the runners trots go away. Then start experimenting with cutting them out for 24hours before.  She will learn what her body can handle. Tom — 3531 Boelter Hall                       day:     310 206-8696 Department of Computer Science University of California Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 USA

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : Okay, here’s the situation.  My wife has a, to her, very embarrassing : problem with her training runs and in some ‘races.’ She has run in several : 5Ks but has been unsuccessful at training for longer runs because she gets : diarrhea, and we’re talking serious liquid diarrhea here, at about 1 – 2 : miles.  It doesn’t always hit, but does about 50% of the time.  We’ve : tried running at different times of days, we’ve tried different foods, : different liquids, different eating cycles, etc., etc. : She’s ready to give up running, but really loves it.  She asked mew to : confer with my "friends on the net, to solve her dilemma.  How about? : What does she try now? I’ve heard of getting the runs, but during running?  :-)

Yes, I believe that this is a very common problem, based on my experiences of seeing long lines for the porta-potty during the course of fun runs. I have also experienced it myself during a training run, and an old running partner (hi SAL) used to crack jokes about it all the time. You may even see it refered to in magazines like Runner’s World. Maybe look at the advice column in this magazine for some ideas? But seriously (folks , it’s almost certainly a dietary problem. Not enough roughage, etc.  If she’s not taking a daily multi-vitamin, doing so might help.

In my opinion, it is not necessarily just a diet problem. It seems to be caused by a combination of factors, the main one being the motion of jogging or running itself. If I haven’t run for some time, or didn’t do to the toilet before the run, then I also get diarrhea. Usually after 10-12 miles. I think bananas might be good to eat before a run ( avoid any milk products). Greetings Jamil — or                                       |,===/o__   -_|__     <

The most effective solution I have found is to not eat for at least 2 hours before a run, and try to schedule a trip to the toilet in those 2 hours. Also, drink only water during those 2 hours, not gatorade or anything like that. Another newsgroup that may have some advice is rec.running. Good Luck. Bob McNaughton PS. I can remember an incident of this occurring during a world class marathon. I think it was the world championships in Rome some time in the late 1980s, when the Australian runner Rob De Castella was one of the top few in the world. The commentator of the race kept commenting how at every drink stop Rob would take a drink as well as a sponge. Instead of using the sponge in the usual way, he would wipe it between his legs. The commentator assumed he was chaffing. But when Rob explained at the end of the race that the real reason was  diarrhea, it lead to one of the more entertaining awkward silences I have seen in a sports interview.

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In Holland a lot of people suffer from this decease. It probably has something to do with the weather. Most of the Dutch run with a cork in their …. Dick  

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: Okay, here’s the situation.  My wife has a, to her, very embarrassing : problem with her training runs and in some ‘races.’ She has run in several : 5Ks but has been unsuccessful at training for longer runs because she gets : diarrhea, and we’re talking serious liquid diarrhea here, at about 1 – 2 : miles.  It doesn’t always hit, but does about 50% of the time.  We’ve : tried running at different times of days, we’ve tried different foods, : different liquids, different eating cycles, etc., etc. : She’s ready to give up running, but really loves it.  She asked mew to : confer with my "friends on the net, to solve her dilemma.  How about? : What does she try now? : –Allen : Information Systems  Seattle, Washington  USA   Human 1st – World Citizen 2nd

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Allen — I tried to send you this the other day, but as a new user to internet I pushed the wrong key and I think just reposted your message.  So here goes again: I think this problem is alot more common than one would expect based on what we hear people say — it’s a little embarassing to talk about.  I’ve been plagued with this for some years now, and have just learned to live with it.  I plan my running routes to pass through parks and other areas with public facilities — I even scope out construction sites for porta-potties.  And I ALWAYS carry some paper towels in my running shorts for those occasions when I’m caught in between facilities and have to use the bushes. On the bright side, as long as I’m keeping up with my regular running schedule I’m never constipated.  And I sure do enjoy the cleaned-out, light feeling I get after a run where this has occurred.  And I must admit to a certain satisfaction when I hear others my age (46) complaining about irregularity and discussing the merits of Metamucil and similar products, knowing that my lower GI tract is working quite well, thank you very much. PS – I’m also a Puget Sounder (Edmonds) — Maybe our clean air and water has something to do with this…….

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In Holland a lot of people suffer from this decease. It probably has something to do with the weather. Most of the Dutch run with a cork in their …. Dick  

Lovely.  I’m moving to Amsterdam at the beginning of September, and this is really the kind of news I was looking for. Since I know basically no one in the city, I’m looking for some kind of running or cycling or even hashing (it’d be fun to try) group in Amsterdam. Does anyone know of one?                                 -dersk — |Cambridge Technology Partners|(617)374-8278|           without IT?           |

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In Holland a lot of people suffer from this decease. It probably has something to do with the weather. Most of the Dutch run with a cork in their …. Dick  

I did not know that. I have never done it. What about the danger of blowing the cork away. I never run behind someone else again   Walter J. Herdes              If I said it, it must be my opinion

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| In Holland a lot of people suffer from this decease. It probably has | something to do with the weather. Most of the Dutch run with a | cork in their …. |  I still can’t get over the fact that they do the whole thing wearing wooden  shoes!! | | Dick   Oranje! Oranje! — Ontario Telepresence Project, 2670 Queensview Dr., Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, CANADA

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : Okay, here’s the situation.  My wife has a, to her, very embarrassing : problem with her training runs and in some ‘races.’ She has run in several : 5Ks but has been unsuccessful at training for longer runs because she gets : diarrhea, and we’re talking serious liquid diarrhea here, at about 1 – 2 : miles.  It doesn’t always hit, but does about 50% of the time.  We’ve : tried running at different times of days, we’ve tried different foods, : different liquids, different eating cycles, etc., etc. : She’s ready to give up running, but really loves it.  She asked mew to : confer with my "friends on the net, to solve her dilemma.  How about? : What does she try now? I’ve heard of getting the runs, but during running?  :-) But seriously (folks , it’s almost certainly a dietary problem. Not enough roughage, etc.  If she’s not taking a daily multi-vitamin, doing so might help.

If I haven’t run for some time, or didn’t do to the toilet before the run, then I also get diarrhea. Usually after 10-12 miles. I think bananas might be good to eat before a run ( avoid any milk products). Greetings Jamil — or                                       |,===/o__   -_|__     <

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: Okay, here’s the situation.  My wife has a, to her, very embarrassing : problem with her training runs and in some ‘races.’ She has run in several : 5Ks but has been unsuccessful at training for longer runs because she gets : diarrhea, and we’re talking serious liquid diarrhea here, at about 1 – 2 : miles.  It doesn’t always hit, but does about 50% of the time.  We’ve : tried running at different times of days, we’ve tried different foods, : different liquids, different eating cycles, etc., etc. : She’s ready to give up running, but really loves it.  She asked mew to : confer with my "friends on the net, to solve her dilemma.  How about? : What does she try now? I’ve heard of getting the runs, but during running?  :-) But seriously (folks , it’s almost certainly a dietary problem. Not enough roughage, etc.  If she’s not taking a daily multi-vitamin, doing so might help. I’ve crossposted this to sci.med.nutrition and alt.support.diet since readers there might be able to help more. —

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Okay, here’s the situation.  My wife has a, to her, very embarrassing problem with her training runs and in some ‘races.’ She has run in several 5Ks but has been unsuccessful at training for longer runs because she gets diarrhea, and we’re talking serious liquid diarrhea here, at about 1 – 2 miles.  It doesn’t always hit, but does about 50% of the time.  We’ve tried running at different times of days, we’ve tried different foods, different liquids, different eating cycles, etc., etc. She’s ready to give up running, but really loves it.  She asked mew to confer with my "friends on the net, to solve her dilemma.  How about? What does she try now? –Allen Information Systems  Seattle, Washington  USA   Human 1st – World Citizen 2nd

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