Why do I burp when I run?

August 22, 2006 1:11 AM

Why do I always burp or feel like I have to burp when I go running? This happens even if it has been several hours since I last ate. It doesn't happen every single time, but probably 80% of the time. I like running, its just gross getting a taste of that yogurt you ate 2 hours ago when its 100 degrees outside. Anyone have similar problems? Anything you can do to solve this?
posted by rordog to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Don't eat for 3 hours before you run. Don't eat a lot that day anyway. Drink a lot (read: carry around a water bottle & empty it every hour or so) the day you run, up until about an hour and a half before you run (you don't want much water in your stomach when you actually run).
posted by devilsbrigade at 2:54 AM on August 22, 2006

Avoid hard to digest foods up to 3 hours before you exercise. Hard to digest foods means meat based stuff and spicy snacks. Instead, eat food that is more easility converted into fuel for your body like fruit, oats (muesli bars for example).
posted by DZ-015 at 4:25 AM on August 22, 2006

I had the same problem. I now don't eat for FOUR hours before running. It's a pain but does the job. And don't drink a load immediately before starting off.
posted by TrashyRambo at 5:30 AM on August 22, 2006

Might also be a touch of reflux. I sometimes have to pop a Tums and chew some gum at the beginning of my run. But usually I run before breakfast. So yeah, no eating before running. And like everyone else said, water.
posted by ruwan at 5:36 AM on August 22, 2006

It is also possible that you are unconsciously swallowing air, in small to medium gulps, as a stress/discomfort management response, while you are warming up, or are in the early stages of your run. Swallowing air is a fairly common "comfort" behavior from childhood, that seems to develop again in some adults. I've seen it occur frequently in older hospital patients, who have chronic low level pain, becoming more pronounced when their pain medications are wearing off, or when physical examinations or other unusual stresses are temporarily present. For some people, the process of filling the stomach, even with air, and subsequently burping, has a comfort value that even they are hard pressed to explain, once they become aware of the source of the gas (air) making them burp. And some of them have been taking massive amounts of antacids and other digestive preparations, in an attempt to "control" the problem.

Pay close attention to your breathing and swallowing behavior as you prepare to run, and begin running, and you may quickly discover that all you need do is relax, and quit swallowing air.
posted by paulsc at 5:48 AM on August 22, 2006

Oh, I am going to look at this thread today. I always get killer gas when I run.
posted by sweetkid at 6:45 AM on August 22, 2006

The simple reason why people burp or get gas is because the entire body jostles when running. Just think about it - if you were to bring a fresh bottle of Coke (say) with you on your run, by the end of your run, you'd have a carbonated explosion waiting to happen inside the bottle.

Same with our bodies. Things get shaken up inside over a long (or not so long) period of time. Eventually, after many months of training, your body will learn to deal with it more or less. But the advice given above - when to eat, what type of foods to eat - is very sound. Light foods before, lots of water during the run will make the run that much more enjoyable.
posted by seawallrunner at 8:04 AM on August 22, 2006