Runners train extensively in preparation for major marathons. They learn how to pace themselves and hydrate regularly. They even try to come up with a system and routine that involves everything from what to eat for breakfast and how to ensure their bathroom needs are taken care of before the starting pistol is fired.
However, it doesn’t matter if you’re running the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race or a 13.1-mile half marathon; it’s hard to predict everything that can happen on that day precisely. Because stress and anxiety play significant roles in your bowel movements, how you feel emotionally and physically on race day may be vastly different from your training days.
Therefore, many runners, despite their best efforts, ultimately discover they cannot escape the urge to go to the bathroom somewhere between the starting point and finish line.
The Health Hazards of Holding It in on Race Day
The number of available porta-potties at the different long-distance races vary. Marathon organizers with generous sponsors and bigger budgets do their best to set up more than enough outhouses at every stop or aid station.
However, even the race directors with the best intentions face capacity issues when they plan poorly and underestimate the number of porta-potties needed to accommodate all the runners and those who have come to support them.
Because there is often a shortage of porta-potties at marathons, the lines run excruciatingly long. Some runners hold off stopping to use the facilities for as long as they can because they know waiting their turn means losing precious minutes.
However, you put more than just your overall time at risk when you hold it in. The more that marathon runners ignore the need to pee while running a race, they put their bowel health in danger and increase the risk of urinary stress incontinence, kidney stones, and urinary tract infections.
Skip the Lines. Save Your Marathon Net Time and Health with Waste Bags
The best way your family and friends can support you on race day is by bringing the Restop Personal Lavatory System. It’s like carrying your own portable restroom stall. The Personal Lavatory System includes a privacy shelter, commode, 5 RS1s liquid Waste Bags and 10 RS2 for solid & liquid waste.
All Restop waste bags utilize ‘Waste Alleviation and Gelling’ technology. They contain enzymes and polymers that convert wastes into a deodorized gel. The privacy tent pops up anywhere easily and quickly; therefore, it can be set up at every stop you need it.
Place the portable commode in the center, line it with an RS1 or RS2 bag, and do your business. It’s no more complicated than using a regular toilet or portable john. The only difference is that once you’re done, you have to remove the waste bag from the commode, cinch it closed, and seal it shut. Because all Restop Waste Bags are made with non-toxic and puncture-resistant materials, they’re leak-free and can be discarded in any trash receptacle.
While it may sound like a lot of steps, the whole process takes a lot less time compared to standing in line at the porta-potties with all the other runners, supporters, and marathon staff.