Runner's Trots... how to prevent?

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  • neilhoopy
    neilhoopy Posts: 280 Member
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    Dioralyte..comes in sachets..drink it up
  • EliseTK1
    EliseTK1 Posts: 483 Member
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    You guys are amazing- thanks for all the great advice! My next long run will be Saturday morning, so I'll keep track and try some of these tips in the days leading up to and during the run. Fingers crossed!
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    edited June 2017
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    Honestly? Other than food triggers and drinking coffee, just wear a pad or depends. It might not stop you from going to the bathroom, but at least there is some protection to relieve the anxiety of trotting.
  • KeepRunningFatboy
    KeepRunningFatboy Posts: 3,055 Member
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    Some things I've learned in 38 marathons and 72 half marathons -
    No dairy, no milk, no yogurt in the 2 days leading up to event.
    I also find that the processed energy bars, and bars that contained whey, also seem to cause me serious issues with runs.

    Now I eat a WFPB diet, tons of veggies and fiber, and therefore I go at least twice a day, but the day before a marathon I will tend to eat a subway sub or a Panera bread pasta and it seems better.

    I honestly find race morning nerves seem to help with a pre-race BM.
  • EliseTK1
    EliseTK1 Posts: 483 Member
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    So... I tried multiple things for my last run including altering my diet the day before/day of, "going" (twice!) prior to my run, and drinking a ton of water the day before/during to ensure I was fully hydrated. I even avoided alcohol the entire week.

    I made it 8.4 miles before having to run to the bathroom. Lost an entire ten minutes to that. Not pleasant, not conducive to a good race.

    Next time I'm getting a little more aggressive and going the Imodium route. I'm also going to go low fiber for two days prior to the long run. I had no idea how difficult it is for me to eat less fiber- I'm going to have to plan this better.

    Anyone who's dealt with this- are you able to run afterwards, or do you continuously develop pain/have to "go"? I didn't even try to keep running after because I didn't want to trigger it again.
  • amehh91
    amehh91 Posts: 1,282 Member
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    I suffer horribly and all I can suggest is to play around with your food and drink the day(s) before and day of? I've not run further than 10k so can't comment on coping with marathon distance but things I've found that help me:
    Going to the loo that morning! I'm almost guaranteed to not have a problem if I've already had a bowel movement. Also, interestingly, if I run the day before and have the trots, I'm unlikely to get them the next day.
    Limited food beforehand - I now have a cereal bar (max 2.9g fibre) and run about 1.5-2hrs after. I recently ran a 10k starting 12:40pm so I had a few spoonfuls of scrambled eggs and 1 piece of toast instead or I would have been starving!
    Drinking plenty all the time, but not loads pre-run. If I'm not running, I typically drink at least 750ml by 9am but if I am running, I'll cut that in half. I drink between 2.25l and 3l water a day (not including other drinks)
    Limiting fibre the day before!

    If I had a longer race such as a half or full marathon, I'd need to experiment further but this has at least made 95% of my 6 mile runs comfortable. I've read about taking Imodium before a race if it's an issue for you - not saying it's right but it's definitely something I'd consider although if potentially try that out on a run beforehand as well to see how that would make you feel during and after.

    Not sure of any of that waffle is any use but good luck!
  • 30kgin2017
    30kgin2017 Posts: 228 Member
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    What works for one person doesnt work for another so its def trial and error. I drink heaps of water the day before and that usually means an extra BM late in the day. Night before I usually try have fairly bland food and I dont carbo load just an ordinary meal. Last race was fish & veggies (and I stole a few fries from my kids).

    Race day I have a can of coke (not a coffee drinker) and a chocolate milk- no solids before I leave the house (usually 45min prior to start time). It sounds like a gross mix in the stomach but for me it works really well.
  • Legs_McGee23
    Legs_McGee23 Posts: 116 Member
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    Immodium. I've been running for years and it's never been an issue ... until my marathon last summer. And now I take an Immodium before each race (half or longer) and I haven't had to make a single pitstop.
  • crushingitdaily12345
    crushingitdaily12345 Posts: 577 Member
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    Find a bush? lol
  • FatMoojor
    FatMoojor Posts: 483 Member
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    have an easy, light meal early the night before. Give your system time to work on it and then get up nice and early on the day of the race and have a couple of large strong coffees. Give it 30 mins or so and you should be well and truly empty.
    This has got me through, halfs, marathons, 30 milers and 50 milers.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,686 Member
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    One bit of advice I've followed on a couple of marathons is to eat your biggest carb-heavy meal the day before the race at noon and only eat a very light dinner and breakfast. In my case I aimed for either pasta or chicken and rice for lunch and eggs and toast for dinner. Not much fiber to hang around and cause trouble.
  • EliseTK1
    EliseTK1 Posts: 483 Member
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    OP here- did an 11 miler yesterday and managed to make it all the way to the stretching session afterwards before having to go. I did low fiber for two days prior/morning of, drank a ton of water, made sure to "go" before the run, and took an Immodium about an hour before running. I also tested out my new camelback and drank a lot more water during running than usual. I tried a couple new edibles that I really liked, Powerade real fruit gel and Gu Chews. I ran slowly and didn't try to push myself to go too fast.

    All this seemed to help quite a bit, but I think when I get into higher miles I will need a second Imodium halfway through to be safe. I'm just so happy I got through the entire run yesterday without that kind of pain and disruption!

    I hope this helps someone else who's suffering.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
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    Hot water is an excellent and gentle laxative, that's why people often poop after their coffee.
    Have you tried hot water/coffee/tea an hour or so before a run?
  • bketchum1981
    bketchum1981 Posts: 130 Member
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    Know a girl who did the Imodium trick for a Tough Mudder.
  • EliseTK1
    EliseTK1 Posts: 483 Member
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    bketchum1981 wrote: »
    Know a girl who did the Imodium trick for a Tough Mudder.

    Makes sense. Amazingly I've done a Savage Race and a Warrior Dash with no problems. Maybe it's because there were so many stops where we had to wait in lines for the obstacles, so my heart rate had multiple chances to go down. Continuous, long-distance running seems to be the only thing that causes problems for me.
  • tomaattikastike
    tomaattikastike Posts: 62 Member
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    I typically eat a very high fibre diet, but the evening and morning before a race (HM or longer), I purposefully eat white pasta, white bread with honey, etc. That's something you can experiment on in training. Also, like you say, there may well be porta potties along the course, and you won't have to queue during the race, so you'll only lose a couple of minutes or so. That's not going to ruin your marathon experience. Hopefully you won't need it, but knowing might give you peace of mind.
  • yourfitnessenemy
    yourfitnessenemy Posts: 121 Member
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    When I was marathon training I took immodium before all my long runs. I had some close calls before I did that.
  • SchweddyGirl
    SchweddyGirl Posts: 244 Member
    edited October 2017
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    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    One bit of advice I've followed on a couple of marathons is to eat your biggest carb-heavy meal the day before the race at noon and only eat a very light dinner and breakfast. In my case I aimed for either pasta or chicken and rice for lunch and eggs and toast for dinner. Not much fiber to hang around and cause trouble.

    It is actually better to carb load up over a course of three days. Starting at about 50% and then increasing your carbs as you get to the day before the marathon and trying to hit about 75-80% carbs. Start playing with your carb loading now, so that you know what will work for you and what won't.
  • caseytoole
    caseytoole Posts: 6 Member
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    I used to run marathons and half's and dealt with the trots. So annoying! So, my race prep included making sure I was empty before heading to the starting area on race morning. I found that I was using an electrolyte drink that was triggering the disaster pants, it contained maltodextrose. I had to avoid all products containing maltodextrose, or it was to the bushes I go! I'd say have a good look at everything you are consuming before working out and getting the trots - maybe its something in your supplements/gels/etc. Also keep in mind that when you run, your intestines are moving the food along your digestive track, so maybe after you eat, you could do a short 20 minute warm up to get things moving, then go to your race.

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