Hi, Michele, KSH and Ginny (and anyone else following this thread).

I remember something my massage therapist told me, that might be relevant to the discussion.

The illeo muscle (yes, I very likely spelled that wrong), otherwise known as the hip flexor, crosses over the front of the hip bones at the bottom end, and at the top end connects to the psoas muscle, which, at its other end, is attached to the back of the abdominal cavity.

In order for the muscle group to go from the back of the area to the front of the area, the muscles wind between the folds of the intestines, and are fascially attached to them. In a fully healthy individual, actively using the ilieopsoas is, I'm sure, normal and without any adverse effects (I'm actually wondering if it even contributes to better function of the intestines by stimulating them); but, if there is a difficulty, like inflammation or the like, with either the muscles or the organs, aggravating one is likely to aggravate the other.

My theory here is that there is already a weakness in the intestines for some reason, which could be, as previously noted, a hydration problem. The activity of running works the ilieopsoas a lot, stimulating and further aggravating the intestines, causing the intestinal distress. I know from my own experience that cycling does not have as detrimental an effect as walking, even, so it is not surprising to me that running would be even worse. This may be because the range of motion used in cycling is much smaller than in running.

Well, anyway, I'm no medical pro or anything, just someone trying to work out the mysteries of my own malfunctioning body, coming up with a theory that might work for you. What would this do to change your protocol? My guess is, as with anything, look for the root cause (poor hydration??), and do what you can to treat that; but also stretch and massage to gain more relaxation and better range of motion in the hip flexors.

Even if I'm wrong, it's not likely to cause you any worse difficulty!

I hope you're feeling well by now, Michele!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~