AIBU to think this is disgusting (needing a poo while on a run)

[Nixen]

Not a poo troll I promise, just ... staggered(!) that one of my friends disagrees with me on this and wanted to gauge opinion!

Don’t ask how the subject came up but my friend H (herself a keen runner) mentioned in response to a news article that her friend J stops for poos during her run ... ‘ She has a stomach issue, running makes her poo 🤷‍♀’ apparantly J takes wet wipes with her but H has never asked if J takes dog poo bags / nappy bags with her, so we’re not sure if she picks it up or just leaves it.

H really really doesn’t see the issue, thinks it’s super judgey to think this is disgusting, says dogs bird etc all poo outside. My view point is that things like this are what separates us from the animals!

Of course if J had an accident and was cut short / poorly I would be so sympathetic, how horrible, but to habitually choose to do this - I think that’s grim!

What do you think mumsnet? Am I really being unreasonable?!

But yes, it is disgusting (I felt disgusted) but sometimes unavoidable.

Dig a hole and bury it, in a spot well away from paths.

My dog has rolled in human shit before, it was horrific. It is though roughly selfish to shit in public, even if it is off the beaten track! I manage to clean up my dogs shit - you should be able to clean up your own.

*Thoroughly selfish.

Sydney poo jogger funnily enough saw this article today, absolutely disgusting

I’ve had to poo whilst out hiking...when you are eight miles from a loo, what else can you do?

I do dig a hole and cover it. And it’s well off the path.

I think context is everything. If she’s doing it in highly populated area, it’s a no. If you are in the middle of the lakes, well off a path. Not an issue.

The problem is that she is doing it habitually. One off, OK, some things can't be helped. But over and over????

I have never needed a poo on a run thank goodness! Have wet myself on occasion though after working hard up a hill and then relaxing.

But we used to run with a woman who would just poo as she was running. You could see the stain and tried to avoid running behind her. She just used to own it and style it out. Really unpleasant.

I'm not a runner or a dog owner but I think dogs rolling in human shit seems to balance the cosmic sense of justice after all the times my kids have stepped in dog shit.

Sorry to derail, but @EmeraldShamrock could be onto to something. The dump-oline or turd-oline
Either way this thread has made me laugh. Many thanks

If you don't think you'll find a stick to dig a hole, a small trowel is easy enough to carry.

I don't run, but i camp/hike/night fish, so sometimes have to 'go' outside.

It’s fairly common in long distance running, I don’t get bowel issues but many many do, and this is quite normal. I don’t like it and have never done it but I’m lucky not to need to.

Agreed @Baguette!

but to habitually choose this

Nobody CHOOSES to have a bowel issue that is so debilitating that they are unable to schedule their poo to happen only when they are near a loo.

Go & talk to somebody with IBS or Crohns & get educated. You will be told of years of inconvenience, pain, embarrassment, & yuck factor. Of other people judging them for having the temerity to have an 'invisible illness' & the humiliation of not being in perfect control of their bowels.

On top of all that, you want to curtail your friend's running activity because YOU are distressed by her illness?

If I met your running friend, I would applaud her for her fortitude & determination. I wouldn't be quizzing her about poo bags or expecting her to stay marooned indoors next to a bog in case the Surburban Sensibilities Squad decide to be offended.

You are being unreasonable, ridiculous, unfair, preachy, selfish, disablist & mean-minded.
HTH

I run first thing in the morning, as in out before 6am, and I try to "go" beforehand, but sometimes you can't force it to be bang on an ideal schedule and the motion of running does move things along. If I sense a need I'll try to head for home but I might be twenty minutes away and can't always manage it - I've had more than one occasion where I have basically had an accident, it isn't pleasant. There are hardly any public toilets - the council actively closed most of them over the last few years due to budget cuts. Those there are the council lock overnight and they aren't open at the times I'm out. If I'm near a coffee shop or something I've popped in and asked to use their loo, but they're also not usually open at 6am and when running out in the suburbs sometimes there are no other options.

If I'm out and can't make it back in time - is it better to shit myself, and when running in shorts without getting too graphic that's not going to be that contained, or to try to hide off in a bit of scrubland and go and try to dispose of it as best I can? Or should I try knocking on random doors at 6am asking to use someone's loo? Or just not run in case I get caught short? A couple of times it has happened and I've just tried to do what I can - it's not pleasant I try very much to avoid it!

Nobody chooses to have bowel issues, but it’s certainly a choice to run in an area without public conveniences knowing full well you’ll have to have a public shit at some point.
Run around the block so you’re arriving back at your own house when the need arises!
If you wouldn’t use incontinence as an excuse to shit yourself in the middle of the M & S food hall, don’t use it as an excuse to shit yourself in the street.

If I had this problem I might try and find a different form of exercise to do that was near toilets like go to the gym instead or swimming.

Bad enough to do that, but even worse to litter with the wet wipes (assuming she leaves the entire 'deposit' and associated waste behind)

DH does a lot of wild running. Its not uncommon for him to mention that someone in his group had to plunge into the undergrowth and grab a handful of dock leaves.

I'm sure there's all sorts of poo in the woods. As long as it's not on the path I don't think it's an issue.

I do a lot of long distance trail running and wild camping. Needs must.

I saw that news story. I have IBS and run. My regular run takes me past a sainsburys and a morrisons both of which have toilets if I do get stuck.
What the lady did in the news article is just Grimm

I'm going to assume she takes bags/ deals with the poo appropriately in some way, and doesn't squat right in the middle of the local playing fields, and if that is the case she is not unreasonable. Running is a healthy activity, why should she give it up just because it has this (not uncommon) effect on her bowels? Even if she could hold it in, it's very unhealthy to suppress the urge to defecate.

A friend of mine has a golden retriever and talks about how bad she is about rolling in/eating human poo on dog walks, and my first question was "but how, on a dog walking path, does a dog FIND human faeces?" I assumed it had to do with homeless people. Now I know.

I have a daily battle with IBS and Coeliac Disease which causes alot of issues. I have to think a lot about getting to a toilet in time and I plan my life accordingly.

This is not an excuse for me to go around shitting in public spaces.

If it was an issue whilst running and there were no toilets available to the public, as I've already suggested I would use a treadmill at the gym where there is a toilet, buy a treadmill second or third hand and run at home or just keep running the same loop near my house over and over.

There are options other than pooing in public areas. Sure the view might not be as pretty or you might have to pay some money to use a gym but I can't imagine why its the better option to poo in the street. It's disgusting.