Preventing Mid-Race Nausea

Audio Transcript

Coach Hayley: Hey Runners Connect fans. Welcome to the Runners Connect Run to the Top Extra Kick Podcast. I hope you guys are having great day and thanks so much for tuning in.

I’m here to answer your running and training questions so that you can train smarter, stay healthy, and achieve your goals.

Today, we have a great question from Fabiola.

Fabiola: I love running and it’s a big part of my life. I’m currently pursuing it in the collegiate level.

However, I tend to have stomach problems. I’ve done workouts and I work hard, yet I tend to slow down in the last few meters of the race with my constant gagging.

Are there any suggestions on how to reduce such reflexes? I’d finish strong if I didn’t have such pain in my stomach and causing myself to vomit.

Hayley: Sorry to hear about those issues Fabiola. That doesn’t sound like a plan at all. I’ve had my fair share of stomach problems and feeling sick during races and workouts and it’s not nice.

If you imagine that it occurs during races and you don’t mention that it does during training, I think it be worth looking at what you might be doing before races that’s different when training.

Do you take caffeine before races, for example? This can cause problems in some people. Do you eat anything different or at a different time?

Make sure your pre-race meal has been practiced for a training session or a workout. If you’re not doing anything different, it’s likely that it’s the nerves people feel around racing, making the gut problems worse. It might be that something you can tolerate for a lack of competence or a tip for race.

The most common of vomiting and nausea during races is the shutting down of the digestive system as you work hard.

The increasing need for oxygen rich blood in the muscles draws the blood away from the digestive system and the nerves are already making this worse.

The most effective way to avoid the symptoms is to pay attention to what you eat before and during your run.

You don’t mention what distance you’re racing so I’m not sure if you are fueling during your run. If you are, make sure whatever stress you use on race day has been practiced beforehand.

If you take gels, make sure you take them with water and not another carbohydrate drink. It’s worth trying different pre-race options to see if this helps.

Keep a diary of what you’ve eaten before the race and whether you get symptoms as this can help you to discover the cause or what makes things worse. It can be individual as to what you react badly to. This requires some experimentation.

A low fiber diet for a couple of days prior to and on race day is a good starting point. Reduce your intake of fibrous vegetables and whole grains temporarily.

You might find that it’s one type of feeling particularly that causes issues. For example, dairy causes problems in some people so you can experiment with avoiding that for a day or two pre-race.

See if there’s anything else you commonly have pre-run that causes issues. Remember what works well for your running partner, might not work well for you.

For that pre-race breakfast or meal, you should ensure that you continue to eat low fiber options. For the meal just prior to the race, stick to something low fat, a moderate protein as these can take longer to digest.

Base your meal around complex carbohydrates but don’t be afraid to go with lower fiber options such as white bread rather than brown, white pasta instead of whole grain.

The timing of this meals is important. Make sure you have at least 2-3 hours between your meal and your race.

Live longer if you eat more.

The pre-race meal should be plain and easy to digest; something like toast with a little bit of nut butter or oatmeal with a little bit of honey are things that can work quite well for people.

It’s individual so you need to find what works for you.

As another consideration you should avoid taking anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen around your race. Research has associated these with vomiting during endurance events.

Another thing to look at is your hydration status. Dehydration can cause some stomach issues. Make sure that you are adequately hydrated and that you sip water when you’re thirsty.

However, taking on too much water isn’t great either forcing yourself to gulp it down when you don’t really need it can actually cause your stomach to feel worse.

Make sure you practice your hydration stretch in training as well and don’t feel the need to drink a lot more just because it’s race day.

I found myself caught in that trap and then had to go to the loo so much before a run.

If this doesn’t solve the problem, you can try an anti-acid or Pepto-Bismol. Research and auto marathoners show some effectiveness in alleviating nausea and vomiting when you take 1onean hour prior to racing.

If this still doesn’t solve things, I really recommend seeing a sports dietician. They are great, and they can look at your diet and help you to discover if you have any specific food intolerances that might be causing the nausea.

They can also find areas in your diet and you can make changes to improve your performance so it’s worth a go.

I really love that question. Thanks so much for asking.

For those of you listening that want to have your questions answered by one of the Runners Connect coaches, head over to runnersconnect.net/daily and click the record button to send your question over.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s episode. If you haven’t already, consider heading over to iTunes or your favorite podcast directory and subscribing or leaving a review to reach more runners like you. Have a great day and be sure to tune in next time.