On September 12, at the HYROX Beijing women's PRO division, Australian athlete and world record holder Joanna Wietrzyk,suffered a sudden bout of diarrhea and incontinence during the race — her legs were covered — yet she didn't stop, finished the burpees, rowing machine, sled push and medicine‑ball work, and took first place in the women's division in 1:01:23. After the race she posted a pouty hospital‑bed selfie captioned "A win is a win."At the scene, in two words: a mess. Excrement contaminated the course, sled pads, floor matting and work‑station areas; more than 1,000 subsequent competitors continued on the same smelly surface, and some athletes stepped on the mess and slipped,some even wanted to withdraw on the spot — but they'd already paid the entry fee, 799 yuan per person, so it hurt to drop out.What was even more surreal was the rulebook. The HYROX competition manual clearly states: spitting or blowing your nose, 2‑minute penalty; littering, 2‑minute penalty; "immoral behavior", 2 minutes or disqualification. But there was no clause:what to do when an athlete's incontinence contaminates the public course.So on September 14 the organizers issued a three‑part response within a single day:a global statement that first praised the athlete's "courage, resilience and refusal to give up," and drew a red line warning that anyone who cyberbullies the athlete will be permanently banned;in the afternoon the China organizing committee issued a corrective statement, admitting the competition manual indeed didn't specify how to handle this situation and that referees had to improvise; in the evening co‑founder Moritz Fürste apologized, saying"HYROX made a mistake in not responding immediately during the event."CCTV's commentary — I'll quote:"True sporting struggle is not about stubbornly pushing through while disregarding public health and the rights of others."But you know, runners around the world, after reading the news, didn't react with disgust so much as a chill down their spines.Because this incident is too close to home.
Every runner owes the toilet a thank‑you.
Marathon runners,before a race are either in the toilet or on their way to it.
This isn't a joke — it's a survival rule written into a runner's DNA.After securing a race entry, the first thing is booking a hotel, the second ischecking how many toilets are near the start and which line is shortest.After race-day check-in, the paths are full of rustling footsteps — not people hurrying to warm up, but jogging to stake out a spot.(Don't ask how I know. It's my own tale of blood and tears: three years ago at the Tokyo Marathon, I stood in line at the portable toilets in front of Shinjuku City Hall and performed the longest "sphincter prayer" of my life.)Every runner has their own pre-race emptying ritual: some drink coffee, some eat a banana, some even use glycerin suppositories, and some walk around the toilet three times before going in.Ultimately there's only one goal:Before you set off, empty whatever needs emptying.Why does your gut act up more at big races?
There's a scientific explanation:The more nervous you are, the more your sympathetic nervous system fires — your intestines either go into overdrive or shut down completely.The running world calls this "pre-race syndrome"; I call it "intestinal betrayal."
The more you care about a race, the more your gut cares back — sometimes so much it will trigger diarrhea to remind you: don't forget about me.Add aggressive carb-loading, overhydrating, and pounding coffee, and your intestines will stage an uprising.So the incident involving the HYROX women's champion wasn't a fluke — it was a matter of probabilityIt could have happened to me, to you, or to any unlucky runner who didn't fully clear out the night before.
Emptying strategy timeline
Here are the key points on this timeline:
- 48 hours before the race: start simplifying your diet,blacklist the foods that make you instantly run to the toilet.The two days before the race are not the time to try new foods; they're for subtracting from your diet.- 24 hours before: keep topping up carbs, but don't overeat. Iron rule:Do not try any new foods in the 24 hours before the race.- Pre-race -3h:Eat simple carbs for breakfast — bread, a banana, or rice porridge are all fine; stop at about 70% full.Guzzling water on an empty stomach or loading up on high protein are classic scripts for blowing up at the start line.- Pre-race -1h:First thing when you arrive: find the toilets and gauge the queue time.Use caffeine according to your own tolerance — if two sips always send you to the toilet, then take them; if caffeine tends to upset your stomach, skip it.- Pre-race -15min:If you feel the urge to go, go.Spending 30 seconds squatting now buys you peace of mind and dignity for the next 40 km — it's always worth it.
What if you really didn't finish and start feeling it mid-race?
First,Don't try to tough it out.
Toughing it out isn't sportsmanship — it's making things worse for everyone. Even if you hold on and "win," the rest of the field pays the price for that "victory."
That's the costly lesson the recent HYROX "fecal incident" taught the running community: your willpower can't be built on other people's hygiene and fairness.
Second,If you need the toilet, find a toilet; if you need medical help, find the medical tent.The portable toilets on a marathon course exist for people exactly like you. If you truly can't hold it, go to the medical tent — the staff have seen it all, won't laugh, will hand you a wet wipe and say, "There's another one at the next stop."(Runners never ridicule each other over toilet problems — it's one of the last kindnesses in the running community.)Some say running is the middle-aged person's cultivation: pace is your level of mastery, and PB is ascension.
One more thing I want to add today:Pre-race emptying out is a runner’s true trial.You can get absolutely blown up on the course, hit the wall, or fall apart to the point of questioning your life — those are all part of the spirit of sport; no one will begrudge you for them.But if you relieve yourself on the course when you shouldn’t,what you lose isn’t your placing, it’s your dignity.And what you “win” isn’t the race either — it’s the smell you’ll remember every time you pick up that finisher’s medal for the rest of your life.No. Winning cleanly — that’s the real win.After all, even HYROX’s co-founder admitted:“We made a mistake. Rules will change, courses will be cleaned and sanitized, but runners still have to do their own homework.”(This piece is a runner’s experience sharing—individual differences are large. If you have gastrointestinal conditions, please seek medical attention; don’t risk your health trying to ‘empty out’ before a race.)
[End-of-article interaction]
#Do you think a victory like this still counts as sportsmanship?#
Text / Editor:Zhu Yu/Cia
Image source: Pao Ye Da Baozha
Visual: Max
