Ok, this is a question that I’ve always had but never dared to ask. You all seem like a safe place to ask this question so here it goes. I run half marathons and want to jump to the full marathon distance. What’s stopping me is fear. Not fear of hitting the wall or even injury but I’m terrified of joggers trot happening to me. What are t…
Ok, this is a question that I’ve always had but never dared to ask. You all seem like a safe place to ask this question so here it goes. I run half marathons and want to jump to the full marathon distance. What’s stopping me is fear. Not fear of hitting the wall or even injury but I’m terrified of joggers trot happening to me. What are the odds, does this happen often and how can I avoid it? Just thinking about it makes me 💩. Help! :)
I unfortunately suffer from this and was afraid that it would happen to me when I ran my first full. Thankfully there were a lot of porta johns along the way :)
I've found that race nerves always make my insides a little rumbly, and that makes things move a little better pre-race. I've found that I tend to go 3(!) times before a race, even an early morning race. (Maybe TMI?) Take advantage of the starting line porta-potties to make extra sure that you are ready to go. My guess is that whatever works for your half marathon will work just as well for a full marathon. That will be different for everyone. Make sure that whatever fuel you take with you sits well and doesn't cause GI distress. Use it in practice long runs to be sure! Don't use anything new on race day for fuel. And like others have said, there are usually plenty of porta-potties along the way. Put your fear behind you and just go for it!
Give yourself as much time in the morning before the marathon as you can, you won't sleep well the night before anyway, so might as well get up early and start walking around after eating to get things moving, even a shakeout jog can help with this. Don't eat anything foreign or different the two days before the race that you aren't sure will sit well with your stomach. And, if worse comes to worse and you can't void completely before the race, there will likely be portable toilets along the route--don't be ashamed, it happens to everyone.
I will say that at just about every race I've ever done, especially the ones in bigger cities, there are always plenty of port-a-potties around in case the urge strikes you. So, you should be covered there, in case it happens to you at a race.
As far as when you're on a regular run, I always try to go before I run. ALWAYS :) I definitely don't want to get caught out there and have to go either. But honestly, I don't think it's ever happened to me on a long run -- it seems like my body focuses all its energy on getting through the run and not so much about other functions 😃 Hope that helps!
Ok, this is a question that I’ve always had but never dared to ask. You all seem like a safe place to ask this question so here it goes. I run half marathons and want to jump to the full marathon distance. What’s stopping me is fear. Not fear of hitting the wall or even injury but I’m terrified of joggers trot happening to me. What are the odds, does this happen often and how can I avoid it? Just thinking about it makes me 💩. Help! :)
Humorous response … did Palm Beach Half Provo’s decade ago … was IN a porta-potty when the National Anthem was playing.
I hear ya. Not advising this but I have been known to take Immodium pre-race.
I unfortunately suffer from this and was afraid that it would happen to me when I ran my first full. Thankfully there were a lot of porta johns along the way :)
I've found that race nerves always make my insides a little rumbly, and that makes things move a little better pre-race. I've found that I tend to go 3(!) times before a race, even an early morning race. (Maybe TMI?) Take advantage of the starting line porta-potties to make extra sure that you are ready to go. My guess is that whatever works for your half marathon will work just as well for a full marathon. That will be different for everyone. Make sure that whatever fuel you take with you sits well and doesn't cause GI distress. Use it in practice long runs to be sure! Don't use anything new on race day for fuel. And like others have said, there are usually plenty of porta-potties along the way. Put your fear behind you and just go for it!
Give yourself as much time in the morning before the marathon as you can, you won't sleep well the night before anyway, so might as well get up early and start walking around after eating to get things moving, even a shakeout jog can help with this. Don't eat anything foreign or different the two days before the race that you aren't sure will sit well with your stomach. And, if worse comes to worse and you can't void completely before the race, there will likely be portable toilets along the route--don't be ashamed, it happens to everyone.
Ha! Well, that's a great question. Runner's World wrote a whole book about it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C9WDG8S/
And they have an article about it here: https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/g20840527/how-to-avoid-pooping-during-a-race/
I will say that at just about every race I've ever done, especially the ones in bigger cities, there are always plenty of port-a-potties around in case the urge strikes you. So, you should be covered there, in case it happens to you at a race.
As far as when you're on a regular run, I always try to go before I run. ALWAYS :) I definitely don't want to get caught out there and have to go either. But honestly, I don't think it's ever happened to me on a long run -- it seems like my body focuses all its energy on getting through the run and not so much about other functions 😃 Hope that helps!