Q+A: Why do I retch during races?

Reading the article on a runner who retches towards the end of their race has made me think. In 2007 when I was training for the FLM I experienced nausea both during and after my longest training runs, which then lasted all day. I experiemented with different types of sports drink but nothing seemed better than any other. On the FLM itslef, which was a hot day, I started off slowly sipping a Lucozade sports bottle, and then at seven miles took a gel, intending to follow it with some water. However, the gel hit my stomach like a pound of lead, and suddenly I felt very nauseous. From then on it was downhill as the nausea got worse, and eventually got to the point where I couldn't even tolerate tiny sips of water. I ended up run/walking from 17 miles, and walking from 23. At the end I felt dreadful, probalby having also become dehydrated, and ended up in the medcial tent where I was also having chest pains.

I'm now about to do the FLM 2008, having talked things through with my GP etc. I'm taking a drug called Lansoprazole, and have changed my drink/carboydrate style to little and often drinks of water, and using dextrose tablets with a small amount of water. That's been fine for most of the training. But my 22 miler triggered the nausea again, and at the Bath Half I did feel slightly nauseous (completed in 1.30.10).

Does anyone have any thoughts/experiences/knowldege to share on this? I'm not going to change at this stage for FLM 2008, but looking ahead I'm wondering if there's anything else I should be doing?

Can I ask what you are taking Lansoperazole for? ( Not that Im an expert or anything)

If you are taking it for ulcers or high acid levels/ acid reflux  could be that the gels & lucozade are irritating your stomach anyway, especially if under pressure.

I take omeprazole ( similar drug) and sometimes feel  nauseous about 3- 4 hours after taking it even if Ive had a good breakfast. Usually disappears quite quickly and sips of water can dispel it.

Have you tried running without taking it - (only talking about 1 dose here, not suggesting stopping!) and then monitoring how you feel?

Lansoprazol is a gastro resistant medication.

I've been taking it since I had the problems, as one explanation for the nausea was that it might have been caused by reflux symptoms during running. (I had reflux symptoms away from running too.)

So, when I had the original problems last year I wasn't taking any medication. Since the FLM 07 taking the medication seems to have helped with most of my running, Bristol Half, Cardiff 10k, Cotswold Way Relay, plus the 20 mile training runs for this year's FLM.

So, the gel/sports drink problems were occuring separately, and I'd also changed my drink/carb package and things had improved considerably. I think on the recent 22 mile run the problem may have been that I drank a bottle of water too quickly - it was the day of the gales, and I'd taken a second bottle of water which I was carrying, but my hands were getting very cold with it, and so I have a feeling I drank it quicker than I needed too.

When I haven't taken it (last autumn, when I'd not managed to get a new prescription in time) things did seem worse again, however they seemed to improve when I re-started taking it.

Reading an article in this year's FLM last magazine on fluid intake, I'm wondering if I was taking in too much fluid and too much carb at last year's FLM, and similarly on the recent 22 miler. Not sure that I was doing that at the Bath Half though. Hmm.

I'd planned to try phasing it out after the FLM to see how things were, at the suggestion of my GP, so might see how it is going then.

Thanks.

Thanks, when I first went to the GP we tried gaviscon, and it was helpful up to a point. The way I understand it works (at least the one I was using) is that it creates a foam in your stomach which acts like a barrier to anything splashing up. That was great on shorter runs, but as soon as I needed to drink some water, or take some carb, I effectively broke the barrier and lowered the effectiveness of the gaviscon.

Hence we moved onto the Lansoprazole which is a more advanced form of gastric treatment.

However, I do think that Gaviscon has it's uses and is helpful in some circumstances.

thanks,

Nigel

Sugar sick? That's very interesting.

I've strongly suspected that too much carb is one of my triggers, and similarly too much fluid. I'm pretty sure then that last year I took on too much carbohydrate too quickly, and that triggered the nausea. But as I'd promised my wife I wouldn't die I decided to be cautious and run slowly, and finally walk instead of forcing myself.

thanks for that thought S T one,

Nigel

Hi Nigel

 I have always been suspicious of the advice given regarding fluid intake during running events, particularly when a lot of it seems to originate from bottled water / sports drink companies. I read one leaflet last year which recommended "500mls of water after first 15mins of exercise and 150mls thereafter every 15mins". Now I realise that everyone is physiologically different and we all have different tolerance levels to dehydration, but I personally thought this advice was absolute nonsense! If I drank that much during a run (and I'm a bit of a plodder) I would be puking my guts up by the side of the road. If I had followed their advice my 4 hour marathon would have seen me with nearly 3 litres of water sloshing about in my gut..... or not as the case may be  !

I reckon if you hydrate well in the days before and drink your lucozade and / or water combination on the morning your body should be pretty able to cope with the shorter events, and on the longer ones your stomach may be able to absorb a few sips at a time taken sparingly to avoid either a crash or sudden surge in blood sugar levels. Then hydrate slowly and thoroughly after the event.

An older running pal of mine who grew up in the African Rift Valley said the locals would put a pebble in their mouth (to prevent dryness) then go out for their run training in the desert! They certainly weren't needing to drink 950mls of water an hour .

I wonder if a pebble from my back garden would be as good as one from the African Drift Valley? It doesn't have quite the same cachet, but would I want to run the FLM with it in my mouth as I've not trained with it?

Thanks for such supportive advice, very useful.

Yes, I would be worried about breathing in too quickly and swallowing it !

Good luck, hope your run goes well.

Thanks for all the good wishes, I ran the marathon in three hours, fifty five minutes and forty three seconds, which pleased me.

However, I was running well up until 18 miles when the nausea hit me again. In a repeat of last year I slowed dramatically, and then finally had to run/walk. It was extremely unpleasant. I managed to keep going, but the symptoms persisted all the way round after that.

The nausea continued afterwards too, and I had a very bloated, disturbed feeling in my stomach for the rest of the day. I wasn't really able to eat much until the evening when I had a light meal.

So, was it sugar sickness? Or did I hit the wall because I was only taking a small amount of carbohydrate (one dextrose tablet every half an hour) with small sips of water? Was it reflux? Or is there something else I've not considered?

Any further thoughts would be gratefully accepted.

Nigel

Nigel

Did you get any further advice after you completed the marathon in April.  I am interested as I have suffered the exact nausea after 6 miles in the Bristol half.  This was my first half marathon and planned and trained well trying different gels.  I ended up using Go Gel as this is thinner than the other gels, but after taking my second does at 6 miles felt sick throughout the remaining run/walk.  I did manage to complete it in 2.16 though.  But if you have any advice, it would be gratefully received.

Zoe

Zoe

Not really, I've managed so far by using sports beans or jelly babies, and water; although when I did a 10k in Cardiff in July I used a bottle of Lucozade sport which I sipped as I went round.

I missed yesterday's Bristol half as I came down with a heavy cold on Thursday, and am still feeling rough. So can't even update you on that one. However, my training went fine even on a fifteen mile run.

So my current practice is/will be to use the Lansoprazole, and to either eat jelly babies little and often with sips of water, or sip Lucozade sport (or similar). I don't feel that I've got very far with this in terms of understanding it, but those methods seem to allow me to cope.

Sorry I can't be of any more help. Very well done on finishing despite it all though. It's tough.

Nigel

Nigel

Thanks for your reply.  Sorry you never made it to Bristol.  Lots of runners did suffer from the heat on the day.   My partner had the cold last week but I managed to battle it off until today, so my sympathy is with you.

I will give jelly babies a try and see how I go.  Not planning any other half's until Bath, so plenty of practice time.

Hope the cold is better now.

Zoe

Zoe

Thanks. The cold's still here, but on the way out I hope. I've put my entry in for Bath, and hopefully I should be fully recovered by then!

All the best with the jelly babies.

Nigel

I experienced dry retching for the first time on a 10k race today and am trying to find out why.

I have been running 10ks for two years and have sometimes felt sick with some indegestiony symptoms when I am in the final two k. 

The only thing different is that I ran all but 100 metres of the race.  Reading this thread - It could possibly Lucozade Caffeine that I almost finished (500ml) whilst running but I have done this before. 

If I don't drink Lucozade (or similar) I find that I get really tired and dizzy and this slows me down. 

Any thoughts will be gratefully received.

OK, dry retching is a new one on me. Don't know, hopefully someone else will have some thoughts on this one.

It sounds rough. I've found I'm OK at my current level of training, but haven't tried pushing it beyond half marathon training. I've never used the caffeine based drinks, as I know that caffeine really messes with my blood sugar levels, so I avoid caffeine drinks almost completely.

Good luck with sorting this out, our bodies are such strange things, we seem to know them, and then suddenly they throw something odd at us.

Nigel

Thanks Nigel, it was definitely an experience and not one I'm keen to repeat!  So far I've been taking it a bit easier - a slower pace but working on my stride and no gulping of drinks but eating a decent amount before - and it seems to be working. 

My next race is a week Sunday so hopefully all will be well

Helen

good luck with the race, hope it goes well. Fingers crossed that you've found a pattern of eating and drinking which works for you.

Hi Helen

I too have had dry retching during and towards the end of fast, short races. In m;y case, I am pretty certain that it is caused by pushing yourself too hard for your level of fitness.  I find it doesn't matter what time of day it is or what you have or havent eaten.

 I know this is pretty old news but I have been trawling the site looking for other causes of nausea/sickness for a friend. He has been running for many years, but during the last year has suffered during short, long, training or races. Pretty miserable.  Has tried lots of different way of alleviating it with no luck.

Good point.

No repeat experiences for me so far and I've been trying to pay attention to my heart rate.  It seems that I am fine until I see the finish line and then I think I get excited about the end and it causes my heart rate to increase (when I'm often at max anyway!). 

Been working on lengthing my stride and that seems to help me a lot. 

Helen

I finished my first 10k last Sunday (1hr 4 mins), I managed to run without stopping and I increased my speed slightly towards the end (mainly to overtake the person infront of me), as I crossed the finish line I thought I was going to throw up and started wretching.

The feeling started to go away as I stopped running and calmed down but I found the whole thing very strange. I am assuming I had pushed myself a little too far?! I had 2 scotch pancakes 2 hours before for breakfast and a lucozade tab before the race and plenty of water before, didn't really sip much water during the race, maybe the odd bit but i find it affects my breathing. It's nice to know I am not the only one this has happened to.

Louise.