Peeing While Running | 5 Common Causes and Solutions

Ladies take heart, you are not alone if this issue has cropped up for you! From childbirth to other daily habits, there are things that could be causing peeing while running and potential resolutions!

Whether you have stress incontinence, which is something like you cough and whoops leak a little or urge incontinence, which is more like thinking you always need to go, there are things that can help!

Any high-intensity activity, from burpees at CrossFit to running, could lead you to suddenly find a little dribble is happening. It’s shockingly common considering how little we hear about it!

I think that runners are more apt to talk about it because discussions around avoiding runners’ diarrhea are so common that what’s a little pee!

So I congratulate all of you who have talked to friends! Because it helps them realize it happens and there are options.

So let’s dive into 5 of the most common causes of peeing while running and what you can try to help resolve it.

5 Common Causes of Peeing While Running

“WHY do I need to pee during my runs almost right away, even after going before I leave the house?”

Let’s talk about the most common reasons you might be leaking and look at some potential solutions.

#1 Pelvic Floor Strength

Leaking while running is super common for women after babies. Pelvic floor exercises are a big way to help start retraining that hold it in tool set (along with core and hip and glute, all working together).

#2 Dehydration

Being dehydrated and overhydrated are both an issue.

Try creating habits that help you sip water all day long.
Don’t feel like you must drink a ton while running as long as you start out hydrated.
Be careful with sports drinks. Too much sugar actually causes bloating, which will create that feeling of needing to pee.

#3 Caffeine

Caffeine is a diuretic. So if you are using coffee as a pre-workout or not used to much caffeine this is a possible culprit.

Understand how caffeine effects you
Caffeine has a 45 minute peak, so that could be the point it hits you hardest and creates the urge to go
Stimulants in pre-workout drinks can have that same impact, so start with very small doses
See if you can slowly lower the amount of caffeine you drink prior to runs if it’s currently a habit

#4 Bladder Irritating Foods

We often talk about foods that upset our stomachs, but there are foods that also irritate the bladder. A few foods to watch out for and see if they might be the cause of your need to pee while running:

“acidic” foods or beverages
carbonated water
Grapefruit, lemon, oranges
Spicy foods, chili, hot peppers
Artificial sweeteners

Meanwhile other foods are actually considered soothers:

bananas – I often recommend these to runners because it also soothes the stomach
potatoes – another great running fuel option
oats
melon, raisins, watermelon

#5 Bladder training

Don’t laugh, this is literally me! I realized working at home I get up and go pee A LOT. Probably just to do something and the result is having trained my bladder to only hold little amounts of liquid.

I have been consciously going less and already working wonders.

According to Janet Yiu DPT here some normal bladder functions:

Pee every three hours: pee “drips” into the bladder at a constant rate which gets full after ~3 hour.
Eight seconds long: The bladder approximately contains 8 “Mississippi” seconds of pee.
Wake up just once at night: Hormones slow the bladder filling so you really only should wake 1x max to pee.
Don’t push it out: Don’t force it! The bladder lets pee out when the pelvic floor muscles relax.
Don’t stop early: Let it all out so the bladder can signal to the brain it’s “empty”
There will always be some residual. : There’s always from pee left sitting in the bladder which is normal.

Another tip from some runners is utilizing a tampon to provide bladder support. Obviously it’s not catching urine, but it puts pressure on the urethra in order to control urinary leakage during physical stress such as walking or running.

Let go of Embarrassment about Peeing While Running

Of course, no one wants to deal with this, but you truly aren’t alone! I’m not a mom, so it’s an issue that thus far has passed me by. But as a coach, I can say I’ve talked to many runners trying to deal with bathroom issues on the run.

PLUSSSSSS… you know how many tights end up looking like we’ve peed just from sweat?!

Ya, far too many.

So trust me, no one but you knows it’s more than sweat.

Whether it’s runner’s diarrhea or even the chafing in unmentionable places, these runner issues are common.

If you have tried all the things and nothing seems to help then there are a few other available solutions:

Grab some dry fit running underwear
Layer in a panty liner
Talk to a doctor to see if you need to take more aggressive action (if it’s truly bothering you then yes it’s worth it!)

If you have any tips that have also worked for you or others, feel free to share and help out a fellow runner struggling with peeing while running!