Your GI system runs like clockwork – that is, until it doesn’t. Experts explain why you get jammed up on race day and how to get unstuck.
Pooping before a race can make for a better race-day experience and offer peace of mind. But sometimes the body won’t cooperate. Patrick Wilson, PhD, RDN, and author of The Athlete’s Gut, offers some suggestions. (Photo: Getty Images)
Published February 18, 2026 08:02AM
Given the meticulous attention triathletes pay to their training, you’d think that everyone at the race has their bathroom routine dialed in. But the pre-race porta-potty line often tells a different story. Some athletes really, really have to go number two (again), and others are silently coaxing their GI system to do its thing before the starting gun fires.
What gives? If you typically have no problem pooping before a workout at home, shouldn’t your body naturally cooperate on race morning?
Yes – and no. While there’s something to be said for regularity, travel, stress, and novelty of a race can throw a wrench in things. But there’s good news: research points toward better methods of manipulating our bodies’ natural cycles, as well as mitigating our digestive tracts’ reactions to high stress and on-the-go nutrition.
Instead of extreme measures like flushing your system with warm salt water or relying on Immodium to prevent race-day diarrhea, there are safer ways to work with your body (not against your body) to arrive at the start line with a clean slate. We spoke with Patrick Wilson, PhD, RDN, and author of The Athlete’s Gut, to better understand why you might get jammed up on race day and how to create an action plan that gets things moving again.
Why your digestive system goes on strike race morning
There’s no “one” reason why triathletes might suffer constipation, Wilson shared, and some of the factors could be outside of your control. For example, research shows that elements like your biological sex might be at play. Indeed, research suggests that it takes longer for food to clear the average woman’s large intestine than the average man’s (in scientific literature, this process is referred to as colonic transit time). Or, you might pop a Benadryl the night before for an allergic reaction, not realizing that constipation is a common side effect of the drug.
However, to a large extent, the ball is in your hands. Although eating breakfast might seem intimidating if you’ve experienced gastrointestinal distress during a race, there’s no way around it: you need to eat. Not only do you need to fuel your body for the triathlon ahead, but you also have to consider your long-term health. Wilson says low energy availability, which women exhibit more often than men, has been connected to reduced bowel movement frequency. One study even found that pooping once a week or less is not outside the range of normal for elite runners. That might sound desirable if you’re used to dashing into every porta-potty on the course, but trust us: it’s not. Without a regular bathroom routine, your gut microbiome and intestinal tract may suffer major consequences.
Of course, rather than battling constipation, you may find yourself standing in line for the porta-potties three or more times before a race – a phenomenon that could be attributed to pre-race nerves. “Those changes are mediated by the body’s stress response,” explained Wilson. But not everyone processes their nerves in the same way. More research is needed to understand why some athletes become constipated while others deal with diarrhea in response to stress – the answers could, in fact, lie in your childhood.
How to induce a bowel movement before a race
There are several natural ways to encourage your body to have a bowel movement on race morning that don’t involve medications or extreme measures. (Photo: Getty Images)
Most triathletes know to prioritize simple carbohydrates and limit high-fiber foods before a race. That’s one way to reduce bowel movements, but there are several more strategies at your disposal to manipulate your bathroom breaks.
Caffeine
Wilson suggests experimenting with how caffeinated beverages affect the timing of your bowel movements. In the days leading up to a race, start waking up earlier and getting accustomed to eating at the time you will have breakfast on race day. When the big day finally arrives, you won’t feel as tempted to hit snooze on your alarm clock. You can then eat your breakfast with 50-100 milligrams of caffeine and instigate a bowel movement long before you struggle into your wetsuit (at which point, you will hopefully not have to come out of it until transition).
Mindfulness
You could also consult a sports psychologist to better understand your gut-brain connection and how your body reacts to factors like stress and excitement. By implementing the right relaxation and mindfulness techniques, Wilson says you might be able to nudge your body in the right direction. However, there’s no scientific research connecting psychological interventions to athletes’ pre-race bowel movements, so experiment to see what works for your own unique body.
Squats and yoga
Finally, you could employ a few simple physical interventions to get your system firing at the right time. You might invest in a toilet stool for your feet (colloquially known as a “Squatty Potty”) to relax your puborectalis muscle and make pooping easier.
Additionally, a short pre-race yoga session could be your golden ticket. The aptly-named wind-relieving pose (pawanmuktasana in Sanskrit), as well as garland pose (malasana), are two of the best physical stances you can take to stimulate your digestive tract. Twisting poses, like supine spinal twist (supta matsyendrasana), might also be of benefit. Our friends at Yoga Journal have a full collection of tutorials on yoga poses for digestion, which could be exactly what your pre-race routine needs.