Marathon runners: the intestinal handicap.

Intestinal complications following strenuous, protracted physical activity have been increasingly recognized. Diarrhea, sometimes associated with blood loss, described in marathon runners does not appear to be a common diarrhea but rather the clinical expression of ischemic enteropathy. On the basis of experimental evidence and some clinical data, it is suggested that prefeeding an elemental semi-hydrolyzed diet might reduce the incidence and severity of this intestinal handicap in marathon runners. Perhaps, more importantly, the potentially adverse effects of acute ischemic enteropathy on the cardiovascular system might be accordingly reduced.