In this shape.com article, marathoner Ali Feller discusses how her Crohn’s disease became so bad she had to give up the thing she loved doing most in the world: running.

Find out what it’s like growing up with inflammatory bowel disease.

Twenty-four-year-old Feller lives to run and regularly takes part in marathons but at one point her Crohn’s had become so debilitating her favorite passion became impossible, forcing her to turn her back on the sport for two years. Thankfully, Feller decided to enroll in a clinical trial and the mystery drug helped her to turn a corner and get back into her running shoes.

She explains that having Crohn’s still affects her running, and sometimes she has to take a step back and rest up when she’s suffering from a flare. Even when she isn’t suffering from flares, taking five bathroom trips during a seven-mile run is a norm she has learned to live with.

Read our five tips to help you self-manage your IBD in college.

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