What if you need to urinate during a big city marathon?

Pisco Sour

A bit of an inconvenience. During my long runs I usually have to stop to take a whizz, but seen as I'm running in Marlay Park so its not a problem. However it has me a bit concerned that come Race day the same problem will present itself, and something tells me the people of Rotterdam wouldnt be too pleased if I did a Paula Radcliffe on the side of the street. The toilet cubicles normally have a queue. I have no intention of queueing for a few minutes mid race. How do people overcome this problem?

gerard65

P yourself! seriously, your shorts will be wet from spilling water and sweating so no one will notice.

Pisco Sour

gerard65 wrote: »

P yourself! seriously, your shorts will be wet from spilling water and sweating so no one will notice.

Hahaha, is it actually possible to pee while you are running? Surely you would have to stop?

hunnymonster

I can only offer a girls pov but it's perfectly possible. It does lead to very nasty chafing though. Usually after the first couple of portapotty's there is no queue so there should be no problem stopping.

rainbow kirby

04072511 wrote: »

Hahaha, is it actually possible to pee while you are running? Surely you would have to stop?

Or you could make like most of the guys at DCM did and go against a tree... I swear every tree in the Phoenix Park must have been marked :pac:

Pisco Sour

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Or you could make like most of the guys at DCM did and go against a tree... I swear every tree in the Phoenix Park must have been marked :pac:

I wouldnt hesitate at all if running through a park, but most of the Rotterdam Marathon is not run through park land.

Pisco Sour

hunnymonster wrote: »

I can only offer a girls pov but it's perfectly possible. It does lead to very nasty chafing though. Usually after the first couple of portapotty's there is no queue so there should be no problem stopping.

How many of these portable jacks are there throughout your average marathon? Would they be every mile? Every 2 miles?

village runner

04072511 wrote: »

I wouldnt hesitate at all if running through a park, but most of the Rotterdam Marathon is not run through park land.

100 euro fine for urinating in hte Rotterdam marathon in public.

Pisco Sour

village runner wrote: »

100 euro fine for urinating in hte Rotterdam marathon in public.

Thats a bit extreme to be fair.

hunnymonster

04072511 wrote: »

How many of these portable jacks are there throughout your average marathon? Would they be every mile? Every 2 miles?

usually there is are a bunch of them at each water station.

Pisco Sour

village runner wrote: »

100 euro fine for urinating in hte Rotterdam marathon in public.

Would love to know how they would implement that. What are they going to stop you running your marathon, follow you back to your hotel so you can grab 100 quid out of your wallet? Sounds like scare tactics to me.

hunnymonster

presumably your race number is associated with a credit card that you entered with and you probably ticked a box saying you agreed to the race terms, conditions and rules. Ironman Florida got nuts about people urinating because some of the locals keep trying to sue the race and get it closed down.

Krusty_Clown

I'm sure it's more your 'stand against a building and write your name' variety rather than your 'trickle down the leg, it's water your honour, honest' type of pee they find offence with.

hunnymonster

lol, I now have a vision of the expo in Rott and people are being given a compulsory incontinence/continence test.

chinguetti

God bless a marathon thats goes through a park with loads of trees is what i say.

Poly

village runner wrote: »

100 euro fine for urinating in hte Rotterdam marathon in public.

FFS, you can have hard drugs and hookers on every street corner, but you can't wet yourself!

will officials going around smelling peoples shorts to see if they pi$$ed themselves during the race?

donothoponpop

04072511 wrote: »

I wouldnt hesitate at all if running through a park, but most of the Rotterdam Marathon is not run through park land.

There's a few fly-unders during the race, I remember seeing a lot of people peeing under them. Wouldn't be surprised if you did get fined though.

Amadeus will remember the look of shock on my face as we walked by those communal pissing stations before the start of the race- I'd never seen them before! Great idea though.

--amadeus--

I've done Rotterdam twice and I haven't seen any more / fewer people peeing in public than any other big race. There are plenty of porta-loos and the race goes through a wooded park about 3/4 of teh way through.

Ideally you should be planning on running without a pee break anyway, stop drinking 30 mins before the off and pee as often as you can before the start and you'll be fine. A lot of it is psychosomatic - you have in your head that you will need to pee so your bladder says "actually..." You will feel a full bladder after the start but just focus on running for a km without a break, then another, then another. After a few miles you'll have forgotten about it. Particularly if you tell yourself that you'll wet yourself rather than stop...

kingQuez

A few of the girls picked these up at an exped outlet store when we were buying gear for a caving expedition a few years ago. They never spoke about them after... so make of that what you will

robinph

Once you don't need to go in the first 5 miles then the portaloos shouldn't be too busy around the route. I stopped to make use of a pubs facilities that was on the routre in the London Marathon years ago.

village runner

Jayses I couldnt resist the 100 euro fine bit but some great answers especially the hooker one.
The name of hte thread made me p*** myself.

Never ever hold it.
Then you have two choices.

The Rook

I'd have no problem going at the side of a road or aganist a tree or something like that ....but what if you have to go to the loo and have to do ....something else..... what would you do then?!!!!:D

Krusty_Clown

The Rook wrote: »

I'd have no problem going at the side of a road or aganist a tree or something like that ....but what if you have to go to the loo and have to do ....something else..... what would you do then?!!!!:D

Pay the €200 euro fine.

Oisin11178

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Pay the €200 euro fine.

haha or wear a nappy:D

TFBubendorfer

The Rook wrote: »

I'd have no problem going at the side of a road or aganist a tree or something like that ....but what if you have to go to the loo and have to do ....something else..... what would you do then?!!!!:D

There I was at mile 30 of the Connemara Ultra 2008 and had exactly that problem. Then, oh wonder, a portapotty appeared seemingly out of nowhere, just ahead of me. And what happened next? The ******* woman 2 steps ahead of me on the course went in, leaving me cursing and swearing (to this day I don't know if I swore loudly or silently).

Salvation came 5 miles later when the door to the next potty opened 2 meters before I was about to pass it. I was in in a flash, but to be fair, I would have managed to get to the finish without accident at that stage.

Moycullen1

Does anyone know of anyone actually getting fined for urinating at a marathon. I'm due to run in Rotterdam and don't like the sound of a €100 fine. I drink a lot of fluids and find myself acquainting myself with loads of trees and wheelie bins during a normal marathon. Like a lot of people I tend to be very discreet at the start of marathon, peeing between parked vehicles or down alleys or behind trees however the closer I get to the finish line the less inhibited (or more deranged) I become!!