Side Stitch

I can handle aching legs, sore ankles and blisters. I’m ok with black toes and the wind and rain don’t bother me in the slightest. But a stitch I can do without.

All other alignments I can seem to run through but when I get a stitch it pretty much stops me in my tracks. For anyone who has ever experienced a stitch, and I suspect that’s 99% of us, knows the pain and discomfort it brings. With that also brings a slower pace and obviously a slower time.

Don’t bother googling a side stitch, I’ve read nearly every article on there and they either confuse me with the jargon (ETAP or something like that) or gives a sure fire way to stop or get rid of a stitch – that doesn’t work.

You name it I’ve tried it, eating hours and hours beforehand, no dairy, no fibre rich foods, no fatty foods, starting at a slow pace, breathing out on the opposite side, different breathing techniques, massaging the side and so on. I do get some respite but it soon returns.

A (very good) runner once suggested it was my overall fitness. If this is true then looks like I’ll have to train harder.

Apart from that I don’t know what else to do, does anyone experience as many stitches as I do? I get one at least nine times out of ten runs. I’d be delighted to hear fellow runners experiences, is there a secret I don’t know about? is there a proven way to avoid them, everyone is different and everyone has their own ways, but any help would be fantastic.