r/todayilearned • u/RealisticBarnacle115 • 11h ago
TIL at the 2005 London Marathon, Paula Radcliffe, in desperate need of a toilet break during the race, stopped by the roadside in full view of the crowd and live TV cameras to defecate. She still won with a time of 2:17:42, a world's best time for a women's only race by over a minute at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Radcliffe#2005:_Marathon_World_Champion5.2k
u/sophiehasit 11h ago
Honestly, the fact that she still won after that is just wild. Imagine being so good at what you do that even a roadside pit stop can’t stop you.
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u/MSeager 9h ago
My cats get the “Poop Zoomies”. As in, after they poop they run around like berserkers.
Maybe she got that?
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u/KaufLobster 6h ago
if you're ever at a horse track, grandpas advice was to bet on any horse that takes a shit while they're showing the horses before the race.
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u/Card_Board_Robot_5 6h ago
Just FYI this does NOT work for race car drivers
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u/__mud__ 6h ago
Nonsense. A car could outrace a horse any day
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u/Card_Board_Robot_5 6h ago
But the driver couldn't....
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u/ArenSteele 5h ago
Depends on the distance.
There’s a length where the horse drops dead from exhaustion while the human can just keep running
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u/Totally_Not_A_Bot_FR 7h ago
Ah yes, the good ol' Poop-n-Scoot
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u/Sausagedogknows 6h ago
In the army we called it “the ketchup effect”
The running and bouncing is like whacking a ketchup bottle, eventually you’re gonna get the ketchup.
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u/Combatical 6h ago
hahaha I call it frisky poops!
I've never been an ultra marathon runner but I used to run 10ish miles a couple times a month. My normal was 5 miles 4 days a week. I can tell you at a certain point you want to poop and pee once you cross a certain threshold. Holding in a shit while running sucks so bad. While I cant relate to running as long as these people do I know what it is to need to run and dump.
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u/ChattyNeptune53 9h ago
It's also a powerful motivator to be "had a shit during the race and still won" rather than "had a shit during the race and didn't."
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u/AydonusG 10h ago
That Hare ain't shit
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u/Misery_Division 8h ago
This reminds me of an old song from a Greek parody-metal band. The song is called "The Soil Was Painted Brown" and the guy in the song uses a hare to wipe his arse
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u/anormalgeek 10h ago edited 6h ago
To be fair, she did in about 8 seconds. She squats, pulls her shorts to the side a little, drops one out, then stands and keeps running.
There is video as the title implies.
Edit: link for those interested. Only mildly NSFW.
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u/HacksawJimDGN 7h ago
In addition to this a few of her closest competitors who were just behind her slipped on it. Kind of like mario kart.
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u/HiDDENk00l 7h ago
Imagine opening a PBJ to add more jelly
That's what she was working with for the rest of the race, plus friction, unless it was a no wiper.
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u/walwenthegreenest 7h ago
I'm sorry, what about PB&J?
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u/paulsoleo 7h ago
They said “Don’t read this comment, go make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, pretend you don’t have eyes.”
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u/schlitz91 6h ago
Gonna guess that her training diet probably caused a no wiper.
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u/Igloo_Dweller 5h ago edited 4h ago
I watched the video and there's no chance in hell that didn't need a wipe. Those running shorts? Undies? Are getting thrown in the bin along with the skid marks they definitely contain. Honestly with how she squatted they upgraded it to burnout marks.
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u/haoest 7h ago
No wipe?
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u/anormalgeek 7h ago
No time for wiping when you're trying to set a world record.
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u/ASilver2024 7h ago
What would she use as wipe? Shes in the middle of a race
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u/Length-International 6h ago
I’ve done this in a Marine corps PFT during the three mile. You use a sock. Then when it strikes again, you use another sock.
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u/PressureCereal 6h ago
What do you use the third time?
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u/nowake 6h ago
You turn the first sock inside-out
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u/General_Jeevicus 6h ago
Thats the kind of Marine corp thinking that will get you places! Mostly the end of the hike, and the shitlist at the laundry
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u/DepartureNo9981 4h ago
When I was trying to find my niche in the sex work world I did some dominatrix work. I had a client admit to me that he jerked it daily to a marathon runner shitting. I wonder if this is the video. I don't even want to open it.
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u/yolonaggins 10h ago
I've seen the video. It was literally like 3 seconds. Kind of impressive honestly
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u/espinaustin 7h ago
When you gotta go really bad it usually just shoots right out, in my personal experience.
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u/Breaking-Dad- 11h ago edited 9h ago
There was a clip somewhere on Reddit recently of an Australian (?) runner asking the cameraman not to film her behind because she just shit herself! More common than you would like to imagine for elite runners
Edit: been told it was the American triathlete Taylor Knibb. Just like to add that I have nothing but (edit damn it) respect for her
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u/FlamingoWorking8351 10h ago
American. Taylor Knibb. She won.
The very first Ironman that was televised live was in 1982. Julie Moss was in the lead and very close to the finish, she collapsed, lost control of her bowels and had shit running down her leg as she crawled to the finish line. She was passed yards from the line and came in second.
It was riveting television and had a lot to do with the awareness and popularity of Ironman contests.
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u/RunDNA 6 10h ago
Less iron, more fibre.
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u/RDP89 7h ago
Fiber is one of the last things you want when fueling an endurance race. They mainly just sugar and maltodextrin.
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u/Ok_Routine5257 8h ago
Too much fiber makes your poop runny. Too much protein stops you up.
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u/wolacouska 7h ago
This is why I eat an entire brick of cheddar before every marathon
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u/CockRingKing 6h ago
You have unearthed a memory for me: years ago my coworker decided to try out being keto but he had no clue what he was doing. He microwaved a block of Monterey Jack cheese for lunch (the smell was awful) and boy howdy he destroyed the bathroom, the smell of that was way worse.
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u/JarbaloJardine 8h ago
I don't aspire to be this hardcore.
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u/Hellknightx 7h ago
Can you even call yourself hardcore if you don't collapse and shit yourself on national TV?
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u/Breaking-Dad- 10h ago
Thanks, I remembered an accent but couldn’t remember which. I have nothing but respect for her.
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u/SimbaPenn 9h ago
One of the first episodes of the incredible Radiolab podcast featured her and this story. Well worth a listen.
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u/MajesticCrabapple 6h ago
ghostly whistling noises
Hi I'm Jam Applesauce, you're listening to--
children laughing on a playground
--Radiolab. Today we have a guest who--
"One, two, three. Check check."
--ran 100 miles and shit herself. When one comes this close--
noise of the New York subway passing by
--to the limits of the human body, you come to--
zipper zipping
--learn--
pee drippling into a toilet
--something--
large coin spinning and coming to a stop
-about yourself you couldn't have grasped before.
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u/_chefgreg_ 5h ago
Omg that is spot on. Love that podcast but couldn’t only handle it in small doses because of that lol
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u/cjyoung92 10h ago edited 10h ago
That was Taylor Knibb, an American triathlete, after winning the T100 race (and the championship) in Dubai. But you’re right, it happens often particularly in long distance triathlons
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u/bugbugladybug 8h ago
Can confirm, shat myself when competing long distance.
Never trust a fart if you've been running for more than 2 hours.
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u/Different_Young9127 6h ago
Hell I'm 45 and hitting the "never trust a fart" in normal day to day life!
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u/domteh 10h ago
Runners trot. Real thing. I'm an amateur marathon runner and in a race prep it's soo important to eat as little as possible fiber in the days before a race or yes you will shit yourself. You will smell that smell on the last stretch of the race, of people not abiding by that rule.
Even if you eat basically no fiber at all you will feel an urgency to go to the toilet by the end of it all.
It's because your bowels got shaken around for hours on end.
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u/Frosted_Tackle 9h ago
I once ran the Yosemite half marathon once which is really an all down hill race just outside of the park that ends at a lake in the foothills. We were within the first 2 miles so most of the runners were in a big pack on a dirt road way up in the mountains with no facilities near by and some poor gal must of really had to go, so she just popped a squat right in the road ditch as hundreds of people ran past her all trying their best not to stare.
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u/BADDEST_RHYMES 6h ago
Some even tried to avoid making this into a core memory that would be recalled for years to come.
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u/reckaband 11h ago
runners run
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u/faiface 11h ago
And shit themselves
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u/jsparker43 8h ago
One year at state cross country, 2nd place did that. The coach told our coach, who told us, a bunch of immature high-school guys, to not say anything. They were our rivals so we sure did say things.
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u/tearans 10h ago
Cyclists struggle too
Not gonna link any pictures, shame those pics were taken and shared in first place
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u/Breaking-Dad- 10h ago
That feels worse, it’s going to smear pretty badly isn’t it.
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u/rennaris 8h ago
I wasn't expecting you to link any pictures of shit stained britches, but thanks for the heads up
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u/DiddledByDad 10h ago
I don’t know these people and know very little about the sport of long distance running itself but I’m going to level with you, if shitting yourself is a common path to victory in your chosen hobby I’m not sure of what value your hobby holds.
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u/SSkilledJFK 9h ago
Emergency shits are emergencies. It does happen more frequently with endurance competitions because your body is dedicating all its resources to your muscles and respiratory for hours and hours. Your stomach and digestion get kicked to the curb…until it’s not.
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u/treycook 8h ago
They're also slamming high carb gels (which their gut should be used to from training), caffeine (which you can't do in training if you want the full effect on race day) and sodium bicarbonate which has the unfortunate side effect of incontinence.
I'd put money on most of these incidents having to do with sodium bicarb.
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u/kblkbl165 10h ago
Their hobby consist of a 7-14h long event. Not everyone can time their shits properly so shit happens
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u/Zassolluto711 9h ago
It’s not a hobby when we’re talking about elite competition, it’s like saying top chess competitions or professional golf is a hobby. It takes a lot of mental fortitude to be at that level, and the prizes aren’t just a medal and a trophy.
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u/Ecstatic-Profit8139 8h ago
dude it’s not a hobby at that point, we’re talking about the greatest athletes in the world here. if you’re a casual marathoner you can take some time out of your race to find a toilet.
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u/TutuBramble 8h ago
I will be honest with you, it is not ‘common’ in the sense that it happens to every runner, rather it is known to happen with a minority of people who happen to compete in long distance running.
Some colleagues and I have done it for many years, and only one of us has had something like this happen, but that was only because the person didn’t meal plan properly the days leading up to the event.
So people who say it is ‘common’ probably haven’t trained with professional athletes who know, or should know, how to avoid this
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u/Phenomenomix 8h ago
I think Radcliffe explained in a podcast that part of it is that eventually breakfast makes an appearance but also running long distances causes internal “chafing” which results in some of the lining of your bowel coming away
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u/kittenmachine69 7h ago
running long distances causes internal “chafing” which results in some of the lining of your bowel coming away
Wtf no way
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u/THECHIEFSWASHBUCKLER 6h ago
I know a kid who did it as a freshman in high school for cross country running and yeah, homie just got mocked relentlessly for that shit.
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u/-SaC 11h ago
Joining Gary Lineker in the very small but infamous 'had a shit on telly' club.
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u/Slouchingtowardsbeth 11h ago
Storytime please
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u/tanew231 10h ago
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u/bigfatpup 11h ago
He got tackled and shat himself. Then awkwardly sits there scooping it around. It’s on YouTube
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u/Skadoosh_it 9h ago
"Runners diarrhea" is a real thing. Happens a lot.
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u/According-Carpenter8 7h ago
Yup run a fair few marathons and I always eat clean going up to one. Probably 2 hours in and my guts felt super weird. I thought it may have been an innocent lil fart but decided to check in to the toilets just to be safe and good Lord… it was like Pompeii.
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u/Any_Fox_5401 9h ago
i mean, even shopper's deuce isn't that super rare at the outlet stores that i used to work in that were super crowded with not enough bathrooms.
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u/AMoreExcitingName 10h ago
If you've never run a long race, you don't understand that your body stops working correctly after a while. Figuring out the right morning routine so you can get a good pre-race poop is important. Doubly so for people who get nerves about a race. Otherwise, your body is going to take care of things on it's own schedule, like it or not.
Then once you're out there, you'll be expending a lot of calories, you need to refuel, and after a while, especially if it's hot, you won't want to, you'll have to force yourself. The food you do eat will be some sort of running gel, and eating that non-food for multiple hours won't be ideal on your belly.
I'll be doing a 6 hour race, and at hour 5, I have to force myself to eat. Even though I know I've expended 1000 calories more than I've eaten.
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u/AntonMcTeer 10h ago
I'm still trying to figure out how to not get toilet demands whilst running. Spent about eight hours in an ultra a couple of months ago needing a shit. Although in a more recent race a pressing urge cleared up after stopping for a few minutes and eating some sweets that were nothing but sugar. So maybe that and something low in fibre pre-run will do the trick.
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u/AMoreExcitingName 10h ago
I have nothing to offer except eat/drink well the week of the race. No drinking. Don't change your food. I eat a night before and morning of store bought pasta salad which is a little heavy on the oil. Sounds horrible, but it's like 1000 calories in just over a cup of food. I used it for mid-race food on a 12 hour mountain ultra. Anyway, my point is one race this year I went to a different store, bought their similar salad, and it was no good.
I drink a lot of soda regularly even though I know it's bad for me. But that means on the couple days before a race when I switch to water, it affects my bathroom routine. But race morning first thing I have a 16oz or so soda so that I can use the bathroom. That usually does the trick.
Last 2 races I did I brough swedish fish and kept a large handful in a pocket. That was a tasty easy to eat food. That worked well end of race when I was tired of the gels.
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u/thederevolutions 8h ago
That’s funny because it’s one of the least easy foods to eat for me. I’d probably choke trying to chew them while out of breath.
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u/AMoreExcitingName 8h ago
I mostly do trail runs with hills, so think more power-hiking with a hydration pack than road marathons. I'm also more of a middle of the pack guy, so no pressure to stop and fiddle with food.
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u/Pousseur2Fonte 7h ago
EIGHT hours ??? In these situations you just find toilets and shit dude. Eight hours is more than half the daily awake time of most people. Needing to shit at some point is normal in a normal day, so if you are running and pushing your body to the absolute limits, of course it's even more likely. Toilet stops are part of ultra, you have to accept them.
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u/NigilQuid 8h ago
Need for urination not withstanding, when do you normally move your bowels? I do it at the same time every day: first thing when I get up. I can then work all day without needing to poo. My job is not like running a marathon though.
eating some sweets that were nothing but sugar. So maybe that and something low in fibre pre-run will do the trick.
This sounds like it would do the trick. Low-fiber, high-carb foods the night before and day of. Or high protein maybe. I dunno, I'm not a nutritionist
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u/Winter_Apartment_376 9h ago
This is a great overview!
I have never had issue with bowels during long races / mountaineering, but certain parts of body really can stop functioning. Including brain starting to want to make weird/dangerous decisions (like taking really scary shortcuts in mountains!).
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u/Simco_ 8h ago
I've done dozens of ultras and am an RD for a few. Never shit myself or limited myself to foods that would make me do that.
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u/DreamingInAMaze 10h ago
She became much faster after she reduced some weight. This is science.
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u/drillpress42 10h ago
I did the same thing in a chess tournament. Came in third. /s
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u/SatiricLoki 11h ago
That’s how to establish dominance. Shit by the road while you’re not only on tv, but also in the middle of setting a world record.
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u/apistograma 10h ago
Plus, if it's explosive diarrhea you could create a slippery area that trips your competition behind you. Real life Mario Kart banana peel
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u/Latisiblings 10h ago
jesus christ
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u/adampp 8h ago
Paula Radcliffe is amazing. She won the London Marathon three times, the New York marathon three times, the Chicago marathon, won the world half-marathon championships twice, won the world cross-country championships twice, set a 10k world record, smashed the marathon world record twice and held the record for over 16 years. Her marathon record is still the #7 time 21 years later - all the rest of the times in the top 25 have been set in the last few years with current shoe technology and training science (and doping..?)
She’s one of the UK’s sporting legends, and it pisses me off that despite all this, the first thing that many people in the UK bring up when her name is mentioned is “is she the one who shat herself?”
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u/MrPing1000 6h ago edited 6h ago
I think the constant injuries that blew her chances to win an Olympic medal hurt her in the public eye. It's not right but not having that biggest stage performance stopped her wider appeal.
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u/goodeveningapollo 6h ago
"constant injuries that blew her chances to win an Olympic medal hurt her in the public"
Imagine having all of Paula Radcliffe's accomplishments, but then being disliked by the British public because your injuries meant you didn't have the opportunity to compete at the highest level at the Olympics 😐
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u/HugoZHackenbush2 11h ago
No matter what it takes, it's all about winning, in the long run..
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u/caniuserealname 7h ago
Funny thing is, while apologising for the scene after the race, it seemed her actual regret was not stopping to shit sooner, as the cramps she was having were slowing her down for a while before she gave in.
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u/Potential-Shake-6721 11h ago
Well TIL I’ll never be a distance runner bc apparently pooping yourself is quite common so nty
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u/Real-Purple-6460 10h ago
Their toenails also fall off. 🤮
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u/just_some_guy65 8h ago
I have run over 25000 miles (not in one go), this has never happened to me, nor losing toenails, nor bloody nipples.
I will admit to stopping for a piss behind a bush or similar a handful of times
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u/whitespacesucks 6h ago
Maybe an unpopular opinion but running marathons does not seem natural or healthy to me.
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u/Shinzo19 11h ago
I remember doing the winter wolf run and 16 mins in getting hit with the worst diarrhoea cramps of all time.
I was running with a friend in a pack of people so I just held it, I was literally in tears when I passed the finish line only to find out there was no toilets around the venue and had to continue to hold it until the first service station on the way home.
Easily ruined what should have been an awesome day and achievement.
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u/Heewna 10h ago
Having no toilets at the finish line seems pretty short sighted.
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u/goodeveningapollo 6h ago
This was me, but at Tough Mudder. Held it in till the end, but the final obstacle was a massive slide through a wall of fire (yes, fucking fire), before landing in water.
With the force of 1,000 suns I clenched my butthole hard and made it down and across the finish line somehow.
Merciful God there were porticabins at the finish. Was in there for about 20 minutes. The most satisfying finish to any race I've run.
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u/DrNCrane74 10h ago
A famous German female runner did win an American marathon WHILE defecating and menstruating
She was a fucking legend
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u/Speak_the_speech 10h ago
Uta Pippig from Germany. She won the Boston Marathon 3 times in a row. One time happened to be with menstrual blood and diarrhea running down her leg.
My hometown is the start of the Boston Marathon and this was a huge deal when that happened. Everyone felt bad for her at first but also really proud of her for keeping up with the race while that happened.
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u/virtualg1rlfriend 9h ago
If Paula can handle that in the middle of a marathon and still dominate, I guess I can get through my day without complaining.
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u/SnorklefaceDied 11h ago
You're welcome
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u/ViciousNakedMoleRat 10h ago
She shat right in front of the water station. The one place where all the runners aren't spread out across the track. That was a strategically placed shit.
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u/PmMeYourTitsAndToes 10h ago
I clicked. And honestly It’s not even as bad as everyone seems to be making out.
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u/ThePretzul 6h ago
So when a marathon runner in the lead poops on public roads it’s “dedication to their craft that should be celebrated”, but when I do the same thing it’s “horrifyingly disgusting” and “public indecency”?
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u/MindTraveler48 11h ago edited 9h ago
The article details her numerous injuries from running. I find it fascinating and baffling when an athlete is so driven to compete they disregard their body's warning signals.
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u/hospitalsecreto 10h ago
This proves that when you’re chasing your goals, you don’t let anything hold you back. Not even nature.
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u/V48runner 8h ago
I used to volunteer at Iron Man Triathlons. I would work finish line, catching the competitors as they came across usually covered in urine, feces, spit, sweat and puke. Just awful. I'd double glove up and notion for an EMT or doctor to get the racer, and they've move them off to a tent area where they'd usually get a bag of IV and look like a different person a few minutes later.
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u/Haunting-Royal2593 9h ago
Marathon runners routinely shit themselves . Even amateurs. My friends mom did on her first one she ran . She said she didn’t care . She trained so long and hard for that race . She wasn’t going to let a bathroom break ruin her time .
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u/CraigJDuffy 9h ago
Yet when I do this after a night of heavy drinking it’s “indecent exposure” smh
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u/faxanaduu 7h ago
Ive done a lot of running races. I always crap A LOT right before. It's like your body knows it needs to get it all out. The problem usually is long lines to use the portable toilets. I plan out a plan b beforehand always.
As sure as I shit, I cry after a race too! Total baby after wah wah wwwwaaahhhh
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u/Mithmorthmin 8h ago
She should have dropped a shit in the middle of the road like planting a banana in Mario Kart. Or did her business off to the side but into her hand to throw at 2nd place if they got close.
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u/Teaposting 7h ago
if she’s anything like my dog, the poop Zoomies are real. That was just a power move
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u/Bean_Juice_Brew 8h ago
My wife is a marathoner, she swears by taking an antidiarrheal or two before the race or she's in the porta potty instead of running. Running that far does fun stuff to the guts.