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?!

If your hobby means you he to regularly shit in public then you probably shouldn't be doing it. Or find a route with regular toilets along it

Come on, that’s just good sense! 😂😂😂

Agree Vanhi a lot depends on where the pooing is happening

If it’s in open countryside and well away from any paths or other well trodden areas then I suppose it’s not really an issue (as long as she bags and bins any wipes) as very unlikely anyone will step in it.

If in an urban area or right by a walking path then not ok.

OP any further information on where she runs? —so I can avoid it—

I have IBS and I also need to exercise my dogs. On a few occasions the IBS has hit whilst on a dog walk. My walks are rural in the woods and forest. I carry poo bags which I will use in these circumstances, and anti bac hand sanitiser.

Its wrong of me but I sometimes wish IBS on others

My mates kid has often had a poo in the back garden. Just likes it.

I think it depends on the context - I run long distances and normally run in central London and plan my routes so I can use the loo if I need to. However, if I am lucky enough to get out and onto a trail run whilst on holiday it is less straightforward. I've only once been caught that short but I took myself off to a secluded spot a long way from the track. It was a field ram packed with cow pats so I'm not sure my rather more modest efforts were going to be a problem frankly.

Joxer would you ban camping wild too? There wouldn't be much exploring going on in your universe (North pole? Not unless there's a toilet!)

bad enough to see a little toddler weeing outside

Good grief get over yourself.

And to the startling number of pp who are fanning themselves on the fainting couch, relishing an entirely invented scenario where OP's friend is wilfully shitting in a public street - stop it.

None of us - including OP it seems - know what route her friend runs, whether it is feasible to run near public lavs, or if she is running rurally, complete with trowel or poo bag.

Such hysteria over a natural function is fucking weird. I seriously doubt the running friend is laying a steaming coil in your front gardens or streets, & am bemused by pp issuing edicts declaring that people with an unfortunate bowel issue should be confined to barracks.

So many threads about poo lately

Joxer would you ban camping wild too? There wouldn't be much exploring going on in your universe grin (North pole? Not unless there's a toilet!)

Do they want medals for it? surely even campers go and find somewhere private to poo and make sure it isn’t just left out in the open or in the water system?

Is this the lady that takes a crap in between cars?

If you've got to go...I don't see any problem if it's a rural route and she can go out of sight and in a spot where no-one will walk in it.

I think if I had that problem though I'd find a route with a toilet half way round.

I have had bladder issues when running due to endometriosis next to /on my bladder and have had to pee behind a tree sometimes. Though usually wearing a pad is fine and it is actually ok at the moment and I don't need the pad.

surely even campers go and find somewhere private to poo and make sure it isn’t just left out in the open or in the water system?

I think I you are safe to assume so, @JoxerGoesToStuttgart, & to assume exactly the same about the runner featuring in this thread.

*most of my runner friends do the same.

Thanks didn't realise this was normal - this has put me right off running.*

It's not compulsory

I don't believe she is literally doing it and leaving it on a street or something.

More likely running somewhere rural and burying it (I'm not going to judge this tbh) or perhaps she's going over a drain/using a bag and taking wet wipes home?

Such hysteria over a natural function is fucking weird. I seriously doubt the running friend is laying a steaming coil in your front gardens or streets, & am bemused by pp issuing edicts declaring that people with an unfortunate bowel issue should be confined to barracks.

How can you tell the difference between human poo and dog poo and fox poo anyway ?

I've seen more dog shit from dog owners that don't clear up after their dogs.

So, anybody with bodily functions is barred from running out doors. Hmm.....

It happens. To a lot of runners. It isn't a bowel 'problem' it is a natural response to exercise.

Most runners who get that reaction accommodate it, for some that means al fresco shitting and, unlike the woman in the clip, are quite discrete about it. But occasionally runners get caught out!

That not many here have experienced it just shows how few distance runners there are here. It isn't an unusual topic of conversation in running clubs!

Oh, and my toddler has had many a wee behind a tree. We live rurally, if I didn't allow this we couldn't ever go for a decent walk & picnic in the woods!

We have an alley way down the side of our house leading to the village - it's not massively used but a few dog walkers do and I walk down it regularly with Ddog and DS5. We have had two episodes of workmen in the road doing the pipes or whatever. The first time they were here I walked down the alley and there on the side was a big poo with some tissues next to it 🤢. Now as no dog I know wipes it's own arse I knew it was human. This happened a couple of times and I contacted the Council who were really good and sent someone to pick it up - I often pick up litter etc but I draw the line at human shit.

The second time the workmen were here I had cottoned on to the fact it was them and lo and behold there it was again the second day after they had appeared so I drove down to their little huddle and asked to see the gaffer. When he appeared I had a rant about him telling his workmen to stop shitting down the back of my house as it was fucking disgusting and kids walked down there and I would be reporting them (I have absolutely no idea who to) if it happened again. There's a public loo in the village down the road and at the supermarket 5 mins away but they were clearly too idle.

So yes the point of my story is unless they are taking it with them it's fucking disgusting! I have bowel issues and have never had to have a shit outside going about my normal business.

I have no issue with an open country, off the track poo that is burried away and unlikely to be walked in. Human poo is more hazardous than sheep/ cow/ horse, but in sporadic quantities, it is pretty harmless. I'd rather bury it and wipe with leaves so there is no long term waste, than bag it up, use plastic wipes and carry it several miles before I find a suitable bin for disposal.

There are villages around here with no toilet access. No pubs. No public buildings. I doubt the average MNer who doesn't open the door to strangers will welcome in a random runner in urgent need of a poo (and if they lack a toilet brush there could be major issues for this type of emergency )

Even in urban areas, it's tough to plan a suitable route past access to a toilet. Even when there are facilities, you can still be caught out. I've clung on until a rare public toilet, disovered it closed due to vandalism, very, very desperately clung on another mile in considerable pain to a semi-public building and found that closed too and simply been unable to last just over a mile to the next opportunity at a supermarket.

Running is fantastic exercise for the body and mind. It's healthy to get outdoors. Dreadmills in gyms do not compare at all. Very few people run more than a few miles on a treadmill because the movement and environment are so monotonous. I will take medication as insurance for races, but that's not something I'm willing to do to my guts on a regular basis.

Disgusting
Tbh I’m sick of poo in general
Where we live it’s bloody everywhere. Fox shit (unavoidable I know as they are wild but it’s like khaki puddles of vileness), dog shit EVERYWHERE it’s disgusting nobody picks it up and the occasional human log it’s absolutely grim.

If you’re running and need to go just take bags and pick it up ffs
A bigger issue is dog owners though

If she does it discreetly and cleans up after herself, which you don't know she doesn't, then I would have no issues. Assuming she doesn't is fairly disgusting.

This is very common in many sports, in fact it's very common for formula one drivers for example, to pee themselves, or poop, In a race as clearly they can't stop and pop to the loo.

@MissDew It's not compulsory

I have IBS, and I don't run, but I can tell you that if I was out and needed a loo, I'd need it NOW not in 5 minutes time. I admire her for not giving up running, my issues restrict my life considerably, and I even have an "I can't wait" card to show in shops that don't have public toilets, and a Radar key to use disabled loos if there's a queue in the ladies. I assume she would go behind a bush or something, not on a footpath.

to assume exactly the same about the runner featuring in this thread.

Except we’re discussing a news story where a runner is pooing beside peoples cars, another poster has said they find poo and toilet roll on their drive, someone has uploaded a video of a runner shitting themselves and others mention other runners doing the same. So, no, I don’t think we can assume the runner in question is going off into the woods with a trowel.

I think getting caught short of fairly common on long runs, and often you’re in the middle of nowhere. I think most people do it in a hedge etc and kick some dirt over it tbh.

I haven’t been caught short but I have for wees!