Sweating profusely.

JohnnyCrash

Hi guys.,just throwing this one out there for a mate of mine.He sweats a lot,way more than normal I would say.He recently ran a marathon and it was hot,and as a direct result,he had to drop out at 20 miles.I was wondering if anyone on here suffers the same or knows someone and what do ye/they do to combat it? He's at the end of his tether with it and is even contemplating packing it in.

nhg

Use Aveeno Shower Gel and Moisturiser, the menthol one if possible, it was recommended by a dermatologist to someone with a similar problem a few years ago and it seemed to help.

BeepBeep67

JohnnyCrash wrote: »

Hi guys.,just throwing this one out there for a mate of mine.He sweats a lot,way more than normal I would say.He recently ran a marathon and it was hot,and as a direct result,he had to drop out at 20 miles.I was wondering if anyone on here suffers the same or knows someone and what do ye/they do to combat it? He's at the end of his tether with it and is even contemplating packing it in.

Caveat - this is not medical advice just my opinion.

Sweating itself isn't an issue, it's just a means to keep your body cool, once you rehydrate and replace electrolytes it shouldn't be an issue.
I get more worried when it's hot and I stop sweating.

TFBubendorfer

JohnnyCrash wrote: »

He sweats a lot,way more than normal I would say.He recently ran a marathon and it was hot,and as a direct result,he had to drop out at 20 miles

Why would anyone have to drop out of a marathon because he is sweating so much?

clear thinking

Assuming its not a medical issue, if he's a run of the mill runner with a few excess pounds then sweating is normal & at a higher rate than a skinny runner - skin surfacearea:weight ratio means it would be normal.

20 miles of that and not rehydrating means hitting the wall.

The normal thing to do would be pick a cooler marathon or rehydrate with electrolyte drinks and let the sweat.... sweat.

JJJJNR

Nothing to worry about, seriously I went for a 5k last night and was wringing my shirt out, im not the lightest runner but as long as he has water along the route (always use bottled not tap water) he should be fine. When I'm doing my LSRs i always throw some bottles at 5k intervals (I pick the bottles up the following week as I do the same 20 k loop) and a bottle of lucazade sport at 8k - 10k, plus gels, if sweating a lot make sure to carry some vaseline also for chaffing. You could also try running with a baseball cap or a sweat band that way the sweat wont go into your eyes.

JohnnyCrash

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Why would anyone have to drop out of a marathon because he is sweating so much?

Sweating profusely leads to dehydration.It doesn't seem to matter what he takes on in the line of water etc...He sweats way more out than what he takes in.if that makes sense? This guy literally looks like hes been dipped into a barrell

JohnnyCrash

JohnnyCrash wrote: »

...he had to drop out at 20 miles...

That's also round about the same time that many "hit the wall", which is perfectly natural. Is it possible he is over analyzing it or, as is only natural, focussing attention on something he thinks is a weakness and blaming that. I would have thought that the cure for dehydration is to keep hydrating, though of course it won't be great for times to have to stop and take it in and run full of water. But people do ultramarathons across deserts like Death Valley in temperatures where shoes melt onto tar and manage to stay hydrated.

lway

I completely sympathise with your mate as I am in the same boat. Granted i'm about 2 and a half stone over my "ideal" weight (as given to me by my GP) and a big lad at 6 foot 3, but after a quarter mile of a race I can feel the sweat starting. It's incredibly frustrating, ran a 5k race last night (23 mins) and had big sweat patches on front and back of my top and my hair was wet with sweat while all around me people were looking fresh faced.

I ran a 5 mile race last week and granted it was hot (20+ degrees) but at the end my top was completely soaked and sweat pouring down my face while none of my mates even had wet hair.

I've yet to find anything that helps, a dash of vaseline above the eyebrows keeps it out of the eyes and a cap can help too, i'm working on the weight, but let your mate know they certainly aren't alone. I'd tend to prefer races earlier or later in the year when it's cooler, and darker tops don;t show the sweat as much, but I reckon it's just the way I am so I get on with it and rehydrate after.

lway

lway wrote: »

...it's just the way I am so I get on with it and rehydrate after.

In that way, you differ from the person in the OP though. In that he seems to believe it affects his running, and in fairness to him I am no doctor so it may...but you seem to be shrugging and getting on with it. I'm not saying the runner in the OP isn't, 20 miles is good, but think he may be over analyzing it.

We're all different. I get a big red head. Not mildly tinged. Beetroot like. And my right foot and left foot hit the ground in different ways, my right turns out much more, it's kinda odd and I'm sure far from ideal. And yes in long races I have thought that I feel a twinge coming on and have thought my red face is linked to heart issues and I'm sure there's a pain in my chest and that foot is nagging me again and the face...oh God the face, that must be a heart attack...and how to make that foot turn in and I really must think about Chi running and why did I not do it before and...

Everyone gets the self doubts. Everyone has some issue they are not happy with.

tunguska

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Caveat - this is not medical advice just my opinion.

Sweating itself isn't an issue, it's just a means to keep your body cool, once you rehydrate and replace electrolytes it shouldn't be an issue.
I get more worried when it's hot and I stop sweating.

Yeah absolutley. I find that the fitter I get the more I sweat and thats just my body being really efficient at cooling me down. On an average 10mile run, easy pace, I'll drop 5lbs during the summer months. If its really hot I'll drop about 7lbs on that same run. I've weighed myself before 20mile runs and then after and the difference can be 10lbs(and thats with hydrating during the run).
I think your mate needs to relax and not hit the panic button just because he sweats a lot OP. The problem is hes probably comparing himself to other people who maybe dont sweat as much. Theres no "normal" amount to sweat. Just make sure to get some electrolytes into you after a run. Coconut water is the best option.

Clearlier

There are underlying medical conditions which can cause excessive sweating. If your friend genuinely thinks that he is sweating excessively he should have it checked out by a doctor.

Assuming that there's no underlying condition then I'd have some doubts about excessive sweating being the root cause of his DNF after 20 miles. The science of sport guys have made the point in the past that dehydration is often assumed to be the cause of a dnf when further analysis often reveals that the runner is not dehydrated. As Tunguska said it's perfectly normal to lose a couple of kgs or more during a hard run in hot weather.

It's more likely that your friend was over-reaching but he'll have to re-examine what went on himself. If he uses a heart rate monitor he could try and use it to control his effort levels during a race.

lway wrote: »

It's incredibly frustrating, ran a 5k race last night (23 mins) and had big sweat patches on front and back of my top and my hair was wet with sweat while all around me people were looking fresh faced.

I ran a 5 mile race last week and granted it was hot (20+ degrees) but at the end my top was completely soaked and sweat pouring down my face while none of my mates even had wet hair.

Your mates aren't trying very hard.

endacl

JohnnyCrash wrote: »

Sweating profusely leads to dehydration.It doesn't seem to matter what he takes on in the line of water etc...He sweats way more out than what he takes in.if that makes sense? This guy literally looks like hes been dipped into a barrell

Plus salt loss.

JohnnyCrash

Cheers for all the replies guys,a lot of little bits of info to pass on ,a couple of them I personally think could be the root cause but when they were bounced off him,he wasn't having any of it.I think a bit of soul searching may be required.

branners69

I have read taking Sage tablets can stop excessive sweating. Anyone else heard of this?

RayCun

branners69 wrote: »

I have read taking Sage tablets can stop excessive sweating. Anyone else heard of this?

I don't know if sage does stop or reduce sweating, but...
why are you so sure that it is excessive sweating? Perspiration reduces body temperature. If your body temperature is high, and you stop yourself from cooling down... that isn't going to end well.