{"id":149949,"date":"2025-11-06T07:00:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/?p=149949"},"modified":"2025-11-06T10:58:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T15:58:58","slug":"how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/","title":{"rendered":"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Having to \u201cgo\u201d has long been the enemy of runners everywhere, but might it hold the key to unlocking higher performance? While any runner can attest to how critical a well-placed porta-potty can be, few realize the powerful science backing it up.<\/p>\n<p>Today on&nbsp;<i>The Shakeout Podcast,<\/i>&nbsp;we\u2019re joined by&nbsp;<strong>Dr. Chia-Hua Kuo<\/strong>, professor in the department of health and physical education at the Education University of Hong Kong, to explore the powerful role of defecation in endurance sport. From fatigue delay to enhanced cognition, you\u2019ll never look at your pre-race ritual the same way again.<\/p>\n<p><iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/d6aa1b15-4cf2-4ea5-befd-35733e2cec83?dark=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This episode of&nbsp;<i>The Shakeout Podcast&nbsp;<\/i>is part one in a special two-part series on Taming the Tummy: how runners of all abilities can take control of their gastrointestinal health to feel better in training and maximize performance on race day. Stay tuned for part two, where we\u2019ll connect with registered dietitian <strong>Jessalyn O&#8217;Donnell<\/strong> to learn how we can apply the science behind GI distress to training, racing and everyday life.<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to&nbsp;<i>The Shakeout Podcast&nbsp;<\/i>feed on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/ca\/podcast\/the-shakeout-podcast\/id1224828899\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/5MJh8NivcixBvCDHtQJWDv?si=809223a6f8ca4f25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/H6_V7JhR5Ag\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a>&nbsp;or wherever you find your podcasts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sports scientist Dr. Chia-Hua Kuo reveals the surprisingly positive links between defecation and endurance performance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5384,"featured_media":149950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[329042],"tags":[342669,325461,345772,326250,324520,332103],"class_list":["post-149949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shakeout-podcast","tag-defecation-and-cognitive-function","tag-featured","tag-gut-distress","tag-running-news","tag-sports-nutrition","tag-the-shakeout-podcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How a pre-race poo can make or break your race - Canadian Running Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sports scientist Dr. Chia-Hua Kuo reveals the surprisingly positive links between defecation and endurance performance\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race - Canadian Running Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sports scientist Dr. Chia-Hua Kuo reveals the surprisingly positive links between defecation and endurance performance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Canadian Running Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-06T12:00:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-06T15:58:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Gay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Gay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Gay\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/0901a0b1bc7ea2dfe95e3607ba877619\"},\"headline\":\"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-06T12:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-06T15:58:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/\"},\"wordCount\":208,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"defecation and cognitive function\",\"Featured\",\"gut distress\",\"Running News\",\"sports nutrition\",\"the shakeout podcast\"],\"articleSection\":[\"The Shakeout Podcast\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/\",\"name\":\"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race - Canadian Running Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-06T12:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-06T15:58:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Sports scientist Dr. Chia-Hua Kuo reveals the surprisingly positive links between defecation and endurance performance\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Photo: Getty Images\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/\",\"name\":\"Canadian Running Magazine\",\"description\":\"For running news, nutrition &amp; training tips, gear and race reviews for the Canadian running community\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Canadian Running Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/logo.png\",\"width\":176,\"height\":47,\"caption\":\"Canadian Running Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/0901a0b1bc7ea2dfe95e3607ba877619\",\"name\":\"John Gay\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37d0d43ff9d1ba1d3f8dd741297db013478f1b166f117d4e6d504117e8dfd4bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37d0d43ff9d1ba1d3f8dd741297db013478f1b166f117d4e6d504117e8dfd4bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Gay\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/author\/john-gay\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race - Canadian Running Magazine","description":"Sports scientist Dr. Chia-Hua Kuo reveals the surprisingly positive links between defecation and endurance performance","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race - Canadian Running Magazine","og_description":"Sports scientist Dr. Chia-Hua Kuo reveals the surprisingly positive links between defecation and endurance performance","og_url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/","og_site_name":"Canadian Running Magazine","article_published_time":"2025-11-06T12:00:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-06T15:58:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Gay","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Gay","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/"},"author":{"name":"John Gay","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/0901a0b1bc7ea2dfe95e3607ba877619"},"headline":"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race","datePublished":"2025-11-06T12:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-06T15:58:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/"},"wordCount":208,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg","keywords":["defecation and cognitive function","Featured","gut distress","Running News","sports nutrition","the shakeout podcast"],"articleSection":["The Shakeout Podcast"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/","url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/","name":"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race - Canadian Running Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-06T12:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-06T15:58:58+00:00","description":"Sports scientist Dr. Chia-Hua Kuo reveals the surprisingly positive links between defecation and endurance performance","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Photo: Getty Images"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/shakeout-podcast\/how-a-pre-race-poo-can-make-or-break-your-race\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How a pre-race poo can make or break your race"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/","name":"Canadian Running Magazine","description":"For running news, nutrition &amp; training tips, gear and race reviews for the Canadian running community","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#organization","name":"Canadian Running Magazine","url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/logo.png","width":176,"height":47,"caption":"Canadian Running Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/0901a0b1bc7ea2dfe95e3607ba877619","name":"John Gay","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37d0d43ff9d1ba1d3f8dd741297db013478f1b166f117d4e6d504117e8dfd4bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37d0d43ff9d1ba1d3f8dd741297db013478f1b166f117d4e6d504117e8dfd4bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Gay"},"url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/author\/john-gay\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shakeout-Podcast-_-Cover-Art-Dr.-Kuo.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5384"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149949"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150271,"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149949\/revisions\/150271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runningmagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}