My Daughter Pukes After Every CC Race - Should I be Concerned?

maybe try having her eat a little bit of a large meal, 3-4 hours before racing.

Also maybe want to look into her breathing habits as the race wears on.

It's probably not a big deal, although it's not great for her teeth. Keep water, toothpaste and brush nearby for afterwards.

I know many runners(myself included)...who for various reasons will not eat the day of a race ive ran a 72min half close to pr for me without eating.

so i dont think she should have to eat before hand...just eat well the night before....

Other than vomit being unhealty for teeth i am not aware that puking after a race really causes any harm. I compete on a DI Nationally ranked team for xc and there are several guys on the team who puke after pretty much if not all races. I too thought that was weird at first but i have found it to be much more common that i originally thought. Just as you explained once they cross the finnish line, they go off to the side throw up and then continue about. While i cannot really give you any medical advice about the issue hopfully you see that its a fairly common issue that happens even to athletes on the more elite side. If your daughter is coping with it well as part of the process then thats even better. Hopfully this helped and good luck to your daugther this season!!!

It really isn't a rare occurrence. I have a friend I run with who pukes after/during workouts and races quite frequently. It doesn't really seem to affect him adversly. Maybe these people who puke after/during races are just pushing themselves harder than others. I've often thought, "Hmmm. Maybe I'm not working hard enough because I don't puke?" Probably not but at any rate it's probably normal that your daughter pukes after races. Here's my question though: How does she puke WHILE running and not stop? Wouldn't she start choking on her own vomit or something?

PS-The acid in vomit is really bad for her teeth. She should bring toothpaste or mouthwash to races with her and clean her mouth out as soon as possible.

NO! do not have her brush her teeth right after. mouthwash is fine, but brush of teeth just rubs the acid against the enamel, furthering its decay.

my b

2 hours is too close. I'd puke too. ;-) Back it up to 3 hours minimum. I count back 2 - 2.5 hours from the time that I want to start my warmup.

My little sister used to do the same (even puking with 400m or less to go). Figured out it was from CO2 poisoning that resulted from trying to breathe in more than breathe out when in oxygen debt. Breathing in doesn't get you any oxygen after a while because your lungs and blood are full of CO2. Your system thinks you're drowning and makes you puke. Pay attention to the way your daughter is breathing the next time it happens and I'll bet you'll see her gasping for air with little to no exhalation. Tell her not to forget to breathe out!

I agree that she should try to eat more than 2 hours before the race. You said you had adjusted her diet but if she is eating granola, did she have that with milk? Dairy of any sort before running can be a really bad idea for some.

Wish some of the girls on my cc teams showed they had the guts to run till they puked. I used to puke after just about every big race. Nothing to worry about.

I puked every race in HS and figured out I needed to give at least 4 hours before and I CANNOT eat bananas! I am adamately opposed to eating bananas raceday, but then again, I've had several teammates that race well on them. Just my two cents.

redmeansdead wrote:

It really isn't a rare occurrence. I have a friend I run with who pukes after/during workouts and races quite frequently. It doesn't really seem to affect him adversly. Maybe these people who puke after/during races are just pushing themselves harder than others. I've often thought, "Hmmm. Maybe I'm not working hard enough because I don't puke?" Probably not but at any rate it's probably normal that your daughter pukes after races. Here's my question though: How does she puke WHILE running and not stop? Wouldn't she start choking on her own vomit or something?

Thanks. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about it.

I'm not sure how she puked without stopping. At that point I was moving from about the 2.5 mile point to the finish. Her good friend was just behind her and told me my daughter slowed down a bit and leaned to the right as they went up the last hill. Her friend passed my daughter as she slowed and could hear her puking. My daughter came back on her in the last 200m or so and finished just a few seconds ahead.

I think I have a "slow stomach" I have to wait forever between my eating and running (running with any real effort)be it bananna or whatever. I think the reason I puked in HS and college is 1) i was running all out 2) most of the time it was realated to cooler weather and I get real snotty and congested.

not that big of a deal...i used to puke a lot also. However, i have a very soft stomach, and throw up often even without running. I suggest she moniters what she eats, not eating anything more than a granola bar with less than 4 hours to racing.

The only medical complication is that the vomit destroys the trachea lining due to the acidity. Also, make sure she is not bulemic, because invocing the gag reflex makes it occur with a lower threshold.

In high school I used to vomit after 880 and mile races. Then I started doing situps, thinking a stronger stomach might help--and it did.

She should probably quit running.

A granola bar and 1/2 a banana two hours before the race is way too much. She's not going to run out of stored glycogen on such a short race, so have her try half a clif bar (cool mint chocolate ones are tasty) and around 24 ounces of water three hours before the race.

I have often wished that I could make myself run hard enough to puke. Good for her!

redmeansdead wrote:

It really isn't a rare occurrence. I have a friend I run with who pukes after/during workouts and races quite frequently. It doesn't really seem to affect him adversly. Maybe these people who puke after/during races are just pushing themselves harder than others.

i know plenty of guys who never puke, including myself. and i don't think it's because we don't push ourselves hard enough. on the other hand, i once worked the chute at footlocker and there were a bunch of runners, especially girls, who yacked after the race. i noticed one was ready to blow right after she finished. luckily, i moved out of the way just in time and didn't get any vomit on me.

as for eating, i don't know how people race without eating. i have to eat before a race. two hours usually works pretty well. four eggo waffles and i'm good to go.