Why Your Gut Struggles During a Race (And What You Can Do About It)

Do you know your GER?

Maybe not, but I bet you know what it feels like when something you’ve eaten or drunk sits heavily in your stomach, leaving you bloated, uncomfortable or nauseous. We’ve all had gut issues during a race and it’s not fun!

GER stands for gastric emptying rate.

Quite simply, it’s the rate at which food and fluid leave your stomach and pass into your small intestine.

Think of your stomach as a reservoir. It receives and mixes what you eat and drink before gradually releasing it into your small intestine, where most nutrient absorption takes place.

That’s where the performance magic begins. Your body absorbs the nutrients and fluids it needs to support your working muscles and keep you moving forward.

What you want is for your race fuel to move through your stomach comfortably, without undue delay.

You don’t want your fuel sitting heavily in your stomach. You don’t want bloating. You don’t want gut issues during a race, you want forward momentum!

What affects your gastric emptying rate?

Several factors can influence how quickly your stomach empties during exercise:

• High exercise intensity. The harder you work, the more challenging it can become to tolerate food and fluid.
• Dehydration. Losing too much fluid can contribute to delayed gastric emptying and digestive discomfort.
• Heat and rising core temperature. Hot conditions can make it harder to tolerate your usual fuelling strategy.
• Concentrated drinks. Higher-energy drinks can take longer to leave the stomach than less concentrated fluids.
• Food and fluid combinations. Solid foods, gels and concentrated drinks can all have a place in your race nutrition, but the amounts and combinations matter.

One of the most common problems I see is a combination of mild to moderate dehydration and concentrated fuelling.

Think an extra scoop of your bottle mix, followed by a gel, when you’re already struggling to keep things moving. For some athletes, that combination can be a recipe for nausea, bloating and discomfort.

I understand why you might want to increase your carbohydrate intake, particularly when you’re working hard and trying to maintain your energy levels. But adding more fuel isn’t always the answer when your stomach is already struggling.

Sometimes, more isn’t better. It’s simply more than your gut can comfortably manage at that moment.

What can help your gut get moving again?

If digestive discomfort starts to creep in during a race, take a moment to reassess what’s happening.

Here are a few things worth considering:

• Ease the effort if you can. A reduction in intensity may help your gut cope better.
• Review your hydration. If you’re behind on fluids, address that gradually and appropriately for the conditions.
• Reconsider the concentration of your drink. A less concentrated drink may be easier to tolerate, particularly if you’ve been taking on a lot of carbohydrate in a small volume of fluid.
• Give solid foods a temporary pause if they’re making you feel worse. You might find that fluids are easier to tolerate until things settle.
• Pay attention to the conditions. Heat, effort, hydration and the fuel you’ve consumed all form part of the picture.

There’s no single solution that works for everyone. The trick is learning how your own gut responds and understanding what adjustments help you recover your fuelling rhythm.

There’s a place for different types of fuel

Make no mistake, there’s a place for different combinations of fluids and solid foods in endurance racing.

Solid foods can provide a useful source of energy and variety over long hours on the bike. Drinks and gels can make carbohydrate intake more convenient, particularly when the intensity rises or chewing becomes less appealing.

The challenge is finding the right combination for you, your race, your effort and the environmental conditions.

That’s why practising your fuelling strategy in training matters. It gives you the opportunity to discover what works, identify what doesn’t, and make adjustments before race day.

The bottom line

Your race nutrition isn’t simply about what goes into your mouth. It’s about understanding how your body responds to what you eat and drink, and adapting when circumstances change.

Complicated? Of course!

Isn’t that part of why we love the intricacies of endurance cycling?

I’d love to hear about your experiences. Have you ever had to rethink your fuelling strategy mid-race? What worked for you? Share your thoughts and let’s keep the conversation going.

---

Make your nutrition work for you.

Race nutrition is personal. If you’d like to understand what your body needs, develop a fuelling strategy that fits your training, and feel more confident in your approach to race day, let’s talk.

Explore performance nutrition coaching with Jill and discover how a few well-considered changes can make a real difference.