Runners

28 RUNNER’S WORLD JULY 2018ILLUSTRATION BY SALLY THURERPROBIOTICPOWERTHE PATH TO IMPROVEDPERFORMANCE MAY BETHROUGH NURTURING THEBUGS IN YOUR GUT.BY AMANDA MACMILLANEXERCISE HAS ENDLESS BENEFITS FOR THE BODY, BUT IT CAN also be amajor gut stressor: anyone who’s had to cut a trainingsession short or sprint to the porta-loo mid-run knows thatrunning can cause gastrointestinal distress, especially for peoplewith sensitive stomachs or chronic conditions such as irritablebowel syndrome. Experts say that sloshing in the stomach(looking at you, mid-run fuel!), decreased blood to the GI tract,and a weakened barrier between the intestines and thebloodstream (also known as ‘leaky gut’) can all be to blame.