Nausea and Vomiting in the Marathon

[Michelle]

I don't know if anyone else has ever experienced this, but in my last 2 marathons (the most recent being Hamilton on Sunday) I've experienced extreme nausea in the last 10km - in May in Mississauga I actually ended up throwing up, but in Hamilton I just slowed my pace enough that I just felt horrible, but didn't actually throw up. (I didn't want to vomit as it made me feel worse when it happened in Mississauga).

Has anyone ever experienced this or have any advice/suggestions as to what might be causing it?

[turd ferguson]

If you're ever running the New York City marathon and you see the free "dunkin donuts" table in the start village, whatever you do, don't binge on free coffee and donuts right before the race.

Also, don't try to wash the taste of lemon gatorade flavoured puke out of your mouth with more lemon gatorade.

Other than that, got nothin.

[IronColl]

I've vomited in a race and that was because of over exertion. I was only 4 or so km into a 10 km race. Could yours be because of an electrolyte imbalance and exertion?

[Michelle]

I haven't done anything different for these 2 marathons and exertion level felt fine in both cases. As well, I've run ultras and other marathons in the past and have never experienced this before. I had thought Mississauga was due to the fact that 13 days before I had a bad bike crash and my body hadn't recovered, but when I experienced the same thing in Hamilton now I'm not so sure.

I feel like my pre race nutrition is good as well as during the race. I've been doing some research and most people mention electrolytes, but from running ultras I think I do a good job with those, so am not sure.

Edited to add that I ran Quebec City in August in HOT temperatures and my stomach was fine, no issues at all. Maybe it's Ontario that it doesn't like!

[Stampie]

I've vomited in a race and that was because of over exertion. I was only 4 or so km into a 10 km race. Could yours be because of an electrolyte imbalance and exertion?

I have not vomited, but have come close. I did a 5K time trail last year and nearly tossed my cookies at the end of that run. That was all due to exertion.

I have the same thought as IC, is there an electrolyte imbalance? Maybe you need to switch-up what you are taking or could it be low sodium or potassium levels? Something more than what an electrolyte drink offers? i.e.: salt tablets and/or potassium supplements?

How is your iron levels?

[MikeM]

I've vomited after each of my 4 marathons. My stomach starts to get queasy from about 30km onward keeping me from taking in any more gels or shot bloks and limiting water/gatorade intake. I don't actually vomit until after I cool down for a couple of minutes after the race. I didn't have the same problem after my 50k or after any shorter race or long run.

For me I'm guessing that it's probably one of:
1) I don't digest all that sugar in gels (I ate all solid food during my 50k)
2) a lack of salt (got lots with chips and salted potatoes in the 50k)
3) the intensity of effort at the end of a marathon

I'm going to keep playing with those until I figure things out.

[MichaelMc]

Running at high intensity re-directs blood flow from your digestive system to your working muscles and skin surface (to promote cooling): this dramatically reduces your ability to absorb nutrients. If you are consuming more than you can digest that could very easily start some issues, as could taking in more fluids than you can absorb: excess simply sits and bounces around.

I would look very carefully at what I was consuming pre-race and during the race. You want everything to be low fibre and easy to digest, and moderation is a key. I would consider electrolyte issues to be an unlikely cause, but it can't be ruled out. If you suspected electrolyte issues then you'd still have to figure out which way since sweating makes your electrolyte concentration go UP and over drinking makes it go down. I'd play the food/drink angle first.