What really happens when an elite athlete suddenly loses bowel control mid-race? The recent HYROX incident involving Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk put “runner’s trots” firmly in the spotlight — but exercise-induced diarrhoea, urgency and even faecal incontinence can happen to athletes at every level.
During hard endurance exercise, blood is diverted away from the gut, repetitive impact can stimulate bowel activity, and heat, dehydration and pre-race nutrition can push the digestive system beyond its comfort zone. The result can be a sudden and sometimes very urgent need to go — with surprisingly little warning.
So why does it happen, and can you prevent it? Here’s the real physiology behind one of endurance sport’s most awkward problems.
