How to Avoid Gastrointestinal Discomfort during a Race?

In this article, we address a very common problem for which many sportspeople can’t find an answer or solution:

And here are some practical tips to avoid this kind of problem.

What are digestive problems during a race?

When talking about endurance sports training and preparation for medium and long distance events, you need to talk about energy pathways and nutrition.

Good planning will help us to avoid, amongst other things, the typical digestive discomfort that many sportsmen and women suffer during events.

The success of a good training programme, as well as a sporting event, does not depend exclusively on the variables of the training, There are many other factors, some of them limiting, which will directly and indirectly affect the results obtained:

These are some of the variables that must be taken into account when planning a sporting event.

Why does my stomach hurt when I run?

As we have already discussed in previous articles, training the digestive system takes on special importance in a training plan in preparation for a medium, long or ultra-high distance test.

In other words, both the athlete’s normal diet and ergogenic aids, including supplements, must have a plan that accompanies training throughout the different phases of the season.

We are therefore talking about the periodisation of nutrition.

Omitting this type of planning and training often results in the immediate mismanagement and inefficient use of the body’s energy substrates at the time of the competition.

Runners and popular sportsmen and women present themselves for a long duration without having trained their digestive apparatus, and without having a strategy for supplementation and hydration that is adequate and trained beforehand.

They also take supplements that:

What happens then?

If, in itself, a long-duration race involves intense effort and stress to the nervous system, the digestive system and other systems suffer major alterations during this type of competition or demanding training.

Let’s think that, in a race of this type, where we need a continuous flow of oxygen to the lower limbs (especially in cycling and running), the body tries to send all the blood to those muscles so that the muscle contractions can take place, they are irrigated with blood, and there is a good exchange of gases and waste substances.

The digestive tract is deprived of blood flow and must therefore make greater efforts to digest and separate substances from food.

If you have not also been trained under these conditions, it is most likely that you will have increased gastric motility, discomfort and will not be able to efficiently decompose the substances in the ingested food/drink or assimilate them.

How can we avoid gastrointestinal discomfort while running?

Choose the type of supplement

Important: test what type of supplements each athlete tolerates best, and do not leave it to week before or day of the test.

Although it is recommended that supplements should be as liquid or gel-like as possible, such as HSN’s Evogummys for better assimilation by the body, and not overworking the digestive tract.

There are products in different formats for short, medium and long term tests.

From very sweet gels with a very dense and pasty texture, to powders to be diluted in water with the exact amount of carbohydrates to be ingested per hour

Adjust the amount of carbohydrates needed

That is, the energy requirements are not met.

On the other hand, we must pay attention to what type of carbohydrates – their composition – the gels or bars are, in order to adjust the necessary intakes properly and thus avoid a composition that favours intestinal discomfort. One recommendation is the powdered isotonic drink EvoTonic by HSN.

Many of the intestinal problems suffered by sportspeople are caused by the intake of gels containing only glucose, which are difficult to absorb and assimilate by the body.

Calculate proportions according to race duration

As the duration of the test increases, so does the intake of both hydrates and isotonic drinks, which will have been trained previously:

Bearing in mind that the maximum absorption of glucose is estimated at one gram per hour and that to this can be added the absorption of up to 30g of fructose per hour by another route of absorption (which could reach, if there is good adaptation, around 90g of carbohydrate per hour).

In any case, the intakes will vary depending on the subject and the total duration of the test.

Plan supplies

Once you have trained and planned your nutritional strategy during the training for the competition, it is time to write down your plan for the race and also to study and analyse the food supplies for the race.

My recommendation is always that you have everything prepared before, during and after the race, without just depending on what the organisation gives you.

What food to have

The diet in the week prior to the competition must also be planned and, depending on the type and duration of the event, what is commonly called “Hydrate loading” is usually carried out 2-3 days prior to the race in order to have good glycogen deposits.

What food should we avoid before the race?

Basically we should avoid anything rich in fibre in the prior days, precisely to avoid possible digestive problems on the day of the race. In other words, vegetables, wholemeal foods and other foods rich in fibre should be avoided on the two or three days prior to the competition.

Practical example

Before I started to train in an orderly way the nutrition in training and in competitions, both before, during and after them, I did not keep track of what I drank or of the gels I consumed.

Fatigue came early, recovery after training was poor, and I suffered from dehydration.

Once I started training and planning my intake – both fluid and hydrate intake – the results were incredible. I was giving the body intermittent and planned intakes to maintain the intensity of the session without suffering stomach problems, hydration etc…

Preparation and Breakfast

Before Starting

Cycle segment

Race period

Post Competition

Avoiding junk food, which is difficult to assimilate and lacks essential nutrients for the body.

It is also important to maintain good post-competition hydration in the two days following the event.

Other tips to try to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort

Bibliographic references

1. Cardona C, Cejuela A, Esteve J. Manual para Deportes de Resistencia. All in Your Mind Training System. (2019).
2. Hopkins, W., & Word, M. (2006). The Optimum Composition for Endurance Sports Drinks. Sports Science(10), 59-82.
3. Shirreffs, S., Armstrong , L., & Cheuvron, S. (January de 2014). Fluid and electrolyte needs for preparation and recovery from training and competition. Journal of Sports sciences, 57-63.
4. Jeukendrup A, Gleeson M. Nutrición Deportiva. Ediciones Tutor (2019).

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