Student Blog: Gastrointestinal symptom management in ultra-endurance athletes

Background:

In 2017 I completed a BSc. (Hons) in Public Health Nutrition at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) (now Atlantic Technological University, ATU, Galway).
Following this, I went on to an MRes. focusing on nutrition for ultra-endurance athletes. Recently, I have transferred to PhD studies in the same area.
My interests lie in sports nutrition, supporting both recreational and competitive individuals in their physical activity while ensuring they maintain a good standard of health.
I spend my free time either in the gym weight training or running, and I am an avid reader, particularly of memoirs and true accounts.

After completing my undergraduate degree I had the opportunity to undertake an MRes. under the supervision of Dr Lisa Ryan and Dr Ed Daly.
After the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in running it created, I stumbled across social media posts of individuals sharing their experiences with ultra-endurance running.
Amazed by the extreme nature of this sport, I was shocked to find that limited research exists offering ultra-athletes nutrition recommendations and guidance.

The project aimed to complete three individual studies:

1) A systematic review exploring the nutrition strategies employed by ultra-endurance athletes to alleviate exercise-induced gastrointestinal symptoms

2) An investigation into the carbohydrate beliefs and practices of ultra-endurance runners in Ireland for gastrointestinal symptom management, and

3) A qualitative investigation into the Nutrition Strategies employed by ultramarathon runners to support performance before, during, and after an event with minimal gastrointestinal implications.

Together these studies would all add to the current body of research regarding ultra-running, nutrition, and gastrointestinal health. Upon completing these investigations, it became apparent that the lived experiences of ultra-runners throughout training and racing were also under-researched. Such information, would health professionals to offer practical useful recommendations and guidance to incorporate into their pre-existing routines.

Currently, I have two articles published from my PhD studies, as well as one under review, and two which are currently in the write-up phase. Current and future publications can be found via my ResearchGate account. Research findings indicate that ultra-endurance athletes experience gastrointestinal symptoms and tailor their nutritional practices to alleviate these issues. However, these practices are rarely implemented based on recommendations from a health professional or nutritionist. Comparably, the vast majority of ultra-endurance athletes rely on their own previous experiences and experimentation to influence their nutritional practices, and many turn to other ultra-athletes for nutrition advice and recommendations. Athletes incorporate gastrointestinal symptom management strategies in a ‘just in case’ approach and, when no negative impact occurs, these strategies become a part of their routine though they may not be necessary. As this research field grows, I am excited to gain a deeper insight into ultra-endurance runners and to help develop recommendations to support their training/competition while maintaining good health.

Reflective Insights:

The world of research can be quite daunting at first and you may feel that everyone knows better than you, or that there is too much information out there for you to wrap your head around. A big learning curve throughout the PhD process was accepting that I cannot possibly know everything, nobody can! It’s very much a case of Aristotle’s “The more you know, the more you realize you don't know” scenario, and becoming comfortable with that is critical if you want to work in research. Similarly, managing imposter syndrome is one of the challenges of being a PhD candidate and working in the research field, so practicing positive self-talk is helpful. If I were to offer any advice to those starting this journey, it is to have more fun. It is easy to delay social gatherings, family get-togethers, or just plain old chill nights watching TV when you are the manager of your time, but this work-play balance is important to maintain. Blocking off some of your calendar for exercising, relaxing, or going wild on a dancefloor may seem like it slows down the research process but, in the grand scheme of things, these moments are crucial for your mental health and will make you a more productive (and in general happier 😊) researcher.

X: https://twitter.com/tansy_ryan  

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tansy-Ryan