A bit of toilet accident was not enough to stop a mum from finishing a marathon and breaking a personal record. An avid runner, Tamara Torlakson eased herself halfway through the marathon instead of stopping to use a toilet. She does not regret the decision.
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Felt a Lot Better
Torlakson, who is not new to running, knew to do her business before hitting the trails, but in this particular instance, she was caught off guard.
She had two choices, to give up or to struggle to hold it in for the rest of the run. She chose the third option, which was to go in her pants and soldier through to the finish line.
She recalled to the Insider:
I thought, 'I don't know if it's possible to poop while running, but I will try. I didn't want one poop to mess it all up. It just came out and I felt a lot better.
The events planner said she ‘didn’t give a s**t’ if anyone noticed but doesn’t think her fellow runners did.
So little was the sh*t she gave about her soggy pants that when she neared the finish line, she yelled to her cheering friends, ‘I pooed my pants!’
In the end, she completed the marathon in three hours – her fastest by about one minute 20 seconds.
It’s Normal
Dietitian Tamara Duker Freuman said long-distance running can cause people to ease themselves a bit as organs tend to jostle around so much during running.
It can also cause temporary incontinence as the blood is rushed away from the digestive tract and towards the legs, she added.
A high-fat dinner the night before could lead to more toilet time even if you aren't running a marathon the next day.
