Stomach Cramps

[Packer]

Currently I am in high school cross country where we run about 6-7 miles every day, but I've been getting terrible stomach cramps. Right now practice is at 8 am so I was wondering what I should eat for breakfast before practice and what Hammer products I should use to fuel right so I don't get stomach cramps.

-Ben

[mangumc]

Hi, Ben. I'm not a runner but I do follow the 3-hour rule of not eating anything 3 hours before training/racing. It has always worked for me re: stomach issues and I have not suffered for lack of energy.

Always pay proper attention to your hydration and on training days, maybe use a Hammer gel 5 minutes or so before your morning training. That should be enough of a calorie boost to get you through a 6-7 mile training run, which I'm guessing for you is about 40-50 minutes. Add a second gel along the way if you feel like you need it to maintain your effort during training. Post-training nutrition is probably more important than pre-training nutrition. Make sure you give your body adequate, good quality carbs within the first 60-90 minutes after your run along with some protein (Recoverite works for me), followed by a high quality protein meal within the next hour or so. Eat wisely for the remainder of the day.

Chris M