Marathoning and the Call of Nature

Step off the course and relieve yourself. Then resume running.

Buddy of mine developed his own solution (but chose not to market it): PeePods. He took something like "Depends" and cut it down...when circumstances demanded, he slipped it in his shorts (while running Chicago...); when done, he tossed it to the side.

Other than that, if it is hot and ppl are spraying you w/water or you have a bottle, well, the "down the leg" method has been known to suffice...

I think Paula went behind a portojohn, and Uta, well... you know...

My friend invented the Cath-o-run. Basically you insert a catheter and then just forget about it. When done, you just empty the bag.

He is now working on a similar device if you have to go #2 butt he hasnt perfected it yet.

Thats sound gross!!!

I just pissed in my shorts during my last marathon. mile 14 and mile 21. No stopping. I should have whipped it out b/c there weren't that many spectators. You should be relaxed enough when you are running that you can go on the fly. practice doing it the woods. You should empty your #2 tank before the race, you don't make new crap that fast.

Hope this helps.

Chimpy wrote:

He is now working on a similar device if you have to go #2 butt he hasnt perfected it yet.

Freudian slip?

Got lucky in my first marathon that as I approached mile ten and really had to whiz there was a porta-john there for the relays teams. Even more luck when no one was using it. Ran in, whizzed, ran out. Cost me a little time, but made the next 16 miles more bearable. Haven't had that issue since.

Just go man

I never had to do #2 during a marathon or training run before, but I have a tiny bladder, so #1 is routine. It's pretty easy during remote stretches of the course to just go by the side of the road and pee. Sometimes, during my long runs, I will stretch my calves on this sloped curb (there is a section of the trail with paved gutters for water runoff where I always stop) so I can multi-task and loosen up my calves while draining my bladder.

Three, not mutually exclusive, ways you should approach this problem

(1) Minimize the occurrence of the problem by drinking early and then stopping. Forget where I read this (Pfitzinger's web site?) but it's worked for me. Presuming you wake up about 2:30 - 3:00 hour before the marathon you should drink about a quart (approximately a litre for the metrically inclined) or a little more (maybe an extra standard cup, making sure to stop drinking 2 hours before the race. This should give you about the right amount of time for any excess to get through the system, so you're hydrated at the start but don't need to go.

(2) Minimize the problem by not drinking as much. What I recommend above is, I think, the most important part of not having to go at all. But you should also make sure you're not drinking too much in the days before the marathon. I ruined one marathon by over-hydrating in the day before the race -- screws up your electrolyte balance. So long as you're not actually dehydrated, you only need to drink while carboloading in the days before. Don't go round quaffing too much water the day before.

In the race you also want to learn, again this is trial and error, how to adjust your drinking for temperatures. If it's cool ( < 55F/13C) and cloudy you don't need to drink too much. Obviously severe dehydration is bad, but mild dehydration is not necessarily a barrier to performance. Noakes' Lore of Running has some more on this, basically showing that the winners (2:10-2:12 performances) of some marathons they studied were more dehydrated than the 2:15-16ish runner up performances.

Winter is probably the best season to practice running long without taking on much water, and seeing how you feel. As always, gradually pushing out your limits, how far you can run without taking fluids, is the way to go. Personally my "best" is a 2:30ish training run without fluids, but I was well hydrated going into it.

(3) Learn to pee while running. Once you get past about half-way in a marathon the disruption to rhythm from stopping is no good. The "trick" is to be able to keep running at pace for a while as the pressure to pee continues to build. OTOH, you may find that it subsides, so learning to let the feeling pass (as it were) can only be done by trial and error. Now, if you still really have to go, you have a good "head of pressure" built up and you can let it all out pretty quickly. One good technique is to hold and squirt, and repeat several times so you don't have to have it dribble down your leg.

Hope that's helpful. Can't believe I've written that much about peeing and running!

Sorry about the bold there.

Same post without the problem:

Three, not mutually exclusive, ways you should approach this problem

(1) Minimize the occurrence of the problem by drinking early and then stopping. Forget where I read this (Pfitzinger's web site?) but it's worked for me. Presuming you wake up about 2:30 - 3:00 hour before the marathon you should drink about a quart (approximately a litre for the metrically inclined) or a little more (maybe an extra standard cup, making sure to stop drinking 2 hours before the race. This should give you about the right amount of time for any excess to get through the system, so you're hydrated at the start but don't need to go.

(2) Minimize the problem by not drinking as much. What I recommend above is, I think, the most important part of not having to go at all. But you should also make sure you're not drinking too much in the days before the marathon. I ruined one marathon by over-hydrating in the day before the race -- screws up your electrolyte balance. So long as you're not actually dehydrated, you only need to drink while carboloading in the days before. Don't go round quaffing too much water the day before.

In the race you also want to learn, again this is trial and error, how to adjust your drinking for temperatures. If it's cool ( < 55F/13C) and cloudy you don't need to drink too much. Obviously severe dehydration is bad, but mild dehydration is not necessarily a barrier to performance. Noakes' Lore of Running has some more on this, basically showing that the winners (2:10-2:12 performances) of some marathons they studied were more dehydrated than the 2:15-16ish runner up performances.

Winter is probably the best season to practice running long without taking on much water, and seeing how you feel. As always, gradually pushing out your limits, how far you can run without taking fluids, is the way to go. Personally my "best" is a 2:30ish training run without fluids, but I was well hydrated going into it.

(3) Learn to pee while running. Once you get past about half-way in a marathon the disruption to rhythm from stopping is no good. The "trick" is to be able to keep running at pace for a while as the pressure to pee continues to build. OTOH, you may find that it subsides, so learning to let the feeling pass (as it were) can only be done by trial and error. Now, if you still really have to go, you have a good "head of pressure" built up and you can let it all out pretty quickly. One good technique is to hold and squirt, and repeat several times so you don't have to have it dribble down your leg.

Hope that's helpful. Can't believe I've written that much about peeing and running!

Carry a water bottle to the start. Wear an old t-shirt you can disgard. Moments before the gun, wrap the t-shirt around your waist to hide what's going on and "refill" the water bottle. Allows you to go right before the start without fooling with porta-potty lines. I've used this before each marathon and never had to pee during.

Also, the advice to not overhydrate is good. Once you're hydrated (your pee is clear), the excess just gets flushed out anyway.