Tips on gastro issues after running?

[Bananaandmarmite]

Currently training for half marathon. Every long run I do, I have a really upset tummy afterwards. It’s literally churning as soon as I stop running.
Today I ran 11 miles and felt hideous after for a couple of hours. Dodgy tum. I rehydrated myself and then felt incredibly sick too.

I’ve felt the need for Imodium the last few times and know this isn’t sustainable.

Any advice? I know to cut down on fats and fibre the day or so before a long run. Still makes no difference

Are you hydrating enough on your run? Are you taking on any fuel (gels etc) during your run?

Little consolation but it’s very common!

This is quite a helpful article Runners World Link

I have a gel about 5 miles (I usually feel a bit empty about 6, so pre empt it).
Also wear a hydration vest and emptied one of the bags this morning. (Only take one to reduce the weight)

thanks for the link, I’ll take a look now

From experience -

if you eat before you run, give yourself long enough to digest before you go - you may need to get up earlier

separate food and drink - water in your bottle, real food in your pocket, if you need to fuel - you don’t want food (eg fruit or snack bars) AND energy drinks - too much sugar which will pull water into the gut

Avoid simple sugars - for instance I simply cannot stomach gels, they go straight through me. It could be the sugar or the sugar derivatives and chemicals.

Give up/ limit alcohol.

When I trained for a marathon last year, I found the more I avoided alcohol (almost totally), and sugar, and eventually the more I trained, the better it was until I ran the whole marathon with no gut issues.

give your body time to adjust - it’s like building muscle, it takes time.

Oh, and no coffee right before a run!

I can't do gels- they've got artificial sweetners in them (goodness knows why they're in energy products).
Caffiene can also be stimulating to the gut

I do better with nakd bars as they're easy to chew and digest with a little substance.

I've got better with time as my body is more used to the motion. I don't often have issues now, and it's more likely if I've run at a harder pace.

Caffeine is very stimulating to my gut. Try a caffeine-free gel.
I listen to a cyclist podcast, the pros talk about inability to sleep & feeling terrible from too many gels.

the gels do that for me.
try a couple of haribos or half a banana instead.
anything over an hour run I have a piece of dry toast an hour before the run. can't run on a full stomach.

Check what you're eating the night before. I can't do salad or loads of veg the night before a proper king run because it just goes straight through me. Also I get up earlier and have 2x coffees and a pre run drink or decent amount of water. This seems to clear things out before I go so no issues during or after but takes some playing around to figure out what works for you.
I also had issues with gels/processed product but now make my own using the Saturday app. Salt, sugar, lemon and water. Seemed to fix the problem for me.

I also suffer from this. I agree with cutting out gels (the only time I nearly pooed myself on a run was after eating a gel!) and play about with different alternatives to see what works for you. I find dates give me a lot of energy and don’t irritate my digestive system. Someone from my running group swears by eating potatoes mid long-run, though that’s less appetising!!

I suffer from this during a run and immediately after, you are definitely not alone. Worse if I am racing or pushing myself and have actually been caught short a few times. I have not identified what causes it. I don't usually eat pre-run if I am running in the morning as I prefer to run empty.

I spoke to my doctor about it. (He’s a runner too)

He said it’s ok to have Imodium before a long run. So that’s the plan

Have you tried without gels? That might sort it.

I eat marzipan for a marathon. Nothing for a half. A variety of real food for an ultra. Can't stomach gels at all they give me diarrhoea

Agree completely about the gels. I couldn't stomach them, ever.

I used to eat small amounts of bananas and fig rolls. On long runs, I ate after 6 - 7 k, and then every 30 minutes thereafter. 1/4 of a fig roll biscuit. I stopped eating by 23 km (15 miles). On marathon day the odd jelly baby helped.

I made sure to eat porridge with berries about 2 hours before a run.

That all worked really well for me. I think those gels are the devils work ultimately

Oh yes, I also had a couple of squares of chocolate to eat occasionally, just for an energy boost