Stitch is ruining my runs

[Knittedbear]

I'm a fairly new runner, I did C25K in May this year. I'm trying to improve my pace by doing the C25K stepping stones, everything is fine and great apart from that I have started getting stitch.

It's driving me mad and today I ditched my run at 25 minutes because the stitch just wouldn't go.

Has anyone got any advice how to avoid this problem?

Are you eating too close to your run? That is a big one for me in causing a stitch. I would also try to slow down to lose the stitch. It is a pain when it happens and won't clear.

If you are able to run in the morning before you eat/drink that will avoid a stitch

Yep, definitely try to leave a good space between eating/drinking and running. I've found two hours is my minimum.

Are you hydrated enough?

Thanks for replying, I haven't been eating before my run, this morning I went out at about 11am having eaten breakfast at 7.30am.

I've noticed it more since trying to run a little faster when doing stepping stones, which is frustrating I'm still only running at 7-8kmph but getting stitch.

Are you hydrated enough

To be honest I probably don't drink enough, I've read that you need to be hydrated from the day before, I just never feel thirsty so only have a couple of glasses of water.

I think a stitch just one of those things that happens sometimes. It tends to happen to me when I eat before I run (and yes, I would count a 7am breakfast before a 11am run as eating before a run, as that's still quite close). If it does happen, I just ignore it, run through it, and it goes away.
Soon enough you'll be a seasoned runner and barely notice it's happening.

On long runs, for example, I might spend a little while worrying about a knee niggle, another half hour distracted by my bra strap rubbing, another half hour with pins and needles...etc etc. These things happen when you get into running, and your threshold for annoying niggles gets much higher!

I get it sometimes and it always seems to be when I’ve slacked off on my water consumption! I’m also the world’s worst at remembering to drink, have always been told you start hydrating on a Wednesday for a weekend race but even if it’s a gentle training run I just find everything works that bit better if you’re hydrated. I take one of those big bottles of sparking water to work when I’m due a run the next day just to kick me off as it does the job but also feels like I’m drinking something a bit nicer than plain water.

Soon enough you'll be a seasoned runner and barely notice it's happening.

Any ideas when that might happen, or what I can do to make it happen? I've been running 3x a week since May, which I realise isn't that long really, but I still find a 30 minute slow jog a challenge.

Do you just have to endure stitch and so on to progress?

Don’t know if this will work, but I used to be a fairly good cross country runner and every time I got a stitch I would press on it quite firmly for a few seconds and then it would go away.
Maybe because pressing on it hurt more so I could get over it 😄

I think that you have a while to go yet! I know that for the first year I was prone to stitches that would make my run really difficult and uncomfortable. I use to try and take as many deep breaths in as I could to get as much oxygen to the muscles and often take the pace down a bit too.

I think for me it was also a case of my core needing to get stronger to support my stomach if that makes any sense? Now a days the only time I get a stitch is if I’ve eaten really badly the night before or sometimes even just setting off to fast is enough to temporarily bring one on, but they don’t last long any more.

Keep going and pushing through, they’ll soon be a thing of the past!

Any ideas when that might happen, or what I can do to make it happen?

It's not so much about how long you've been running for, as how much you train and how much you push yourself. IIRC, stitches didn't bother me so much by the time I'd been running for 4-5 months, but I'd done my first 10k by then, and had got accustomed to carrying on. I can honestly say they never bother me now. I might be aware I have a stitch, but it won't make me slow down or stop.
If you've been running since May, I'd be trying to get out if your comfort zone a bit more.
My rule of thumb is - if you're in discomfort, push through for a while longer. It'll mostly go away. But if discomfort turns to genuine pain, that's when you can consider stopping.

Try tensing up your stomach muscles when it happens, that works for me most of the time.

Thanks everyone. So my action plan is;
Make sure I'm well hydrated
No eating before a run
Work on strengthening core muscles
Will also try pressing on stomach!

Sometimes I get mild stitch and I just carry on and ignore it and sometimes it even goes, but yesterday it was becoming painful (to me anyway).

I eat 3 hours before running in the evening, lots of carbs and zero dairy. Or for an early morning run I drink a pint of water and have 2 slices of marmite toast 1 hour before. Tbh I think it's trial and error but I can't run if I've eaten even a yogurt 3 hours before!

I used to get a stitch when I ran quite frequently, then I started going to yoga and doing deep breathing and the stitches stopped. I have just had a few recently, had have a bad cough at the moment. I am sure it is related to good breathing

When it happens grab your thumb with the fingers of the same hand - the hand on the same side as the stitch.
It works.

Was told it by an experienced marathon runner when I first started training with a club.