I have ended a run early because I ate too close to it. I have done it more than once, and I know exactly how it feels. Today is day 2,164 of my daily run streak, and the lesson I want to share is a plain one about timing.

How long should you wait after eating before you run? My answer is at least two hours. Some people say 90 minutes. Others say three hours. I have always stuck to two. This is my own rule from years of daily running, not medical advice, and your body may tell you something different.

What happens when I get it wrong

If I run too soon after eating, my body is still busy digesting. The run then turns uncomfortable. For me that means a stomach ache, a stitch, reflux, belching or wind. On a bad day it means cutting the run short to find a toilet.

I have a sensitive digestion, so I feel these mistakes quickly. I took part in a Zoe App scheme not long ago, which tested how my gut responded to different foods. It showed me which foods my body handles well and which it struggles with. I found it useful. It did not stop me making the same basic error, though.

Why I still get it wrong

I run every day. Life gets in the way, and I squeeze the run into whatever gap is left. Sometimes that gap comes straight after a meal. I know the rule and I still break it. That is the honest part of this episode.

The variables that change the two hours

Two hours is a starting point. Three things move it.

How much I have eaten. A large meal needs longer than a light one.

What I have eaten. Processed food, high sugar and high saturated fat sit in my stomach longer. On those days two hours is not enough.

How my body reacts to the food. Some foods agree with me and some do not. Foods my body handles well turn into usable energy faster.

Food is fuel. I need the calories to run. But my body needs time to digest the food and turn it into energy before I ask it to work.

The campfire picture I use

I think of digestion as a campfire. Dry kindling and clean wood burn well and give a steady fire. Damp, soggy leaves smoke and splutter, and the fire struggles. A healthy system will get through poor fuel in the end, but it takes far longer and it is unpleasant. Poor food before a run works the same way. I pay for it on the road.

Hydration helps too. A hydrated body digests food more effectively, so I try to keep my fluids up through the day and not only around the run.

What I take from this

Three things for my own routine, and for anyone starting to run:

Eat well before a planned run, and eat early enough.

Leave at least two hours. Allow longer after a heavy or processed meal.

Stay hydrated through the day.

The deeper lesson for me is about consistency. When you run every day, you cannot wait for perfect conditions. You plan around the run. The meal timing is part of the plan, not an afterthought. On the days I plan properly, the run is steady. On the days I do not, I pay for it. A streak rewards preparation more than effort.

Where the streak and the mission stand

Today is day 2,164 of consecutive daily running in barefoot-style footwear. My total distance is 16,611.59 km. The goal is 40,075 km, a lap of the world, so 23,463.41 km remain. That is over 41 per cent done.

I intend to keep this streak going for 16.5 years. Over a span like that, small habits decide the outcome. Getting meal timing right is a small habit. Done once, it saves one uncomfortable run. Done for years, it protects the streak.

Every run is part of a fundraiser. I am aiming to raise £1M for children's causes, including Great Ormond Street and BBC Children in Need. The more people who see the vlog, the more children we can help. That is why I run every day, including the uncomfortable ones.

What I would ask of you

If you run, or you are thinking of starting, try the two-hour gap and see how your body responds. Adjust it for what you eat. Then tell me what works for you. I read the comments and reply to anything relevant.

If you believe in the mission, please watch, subscribe, share and comment. Each view puts the fundraiser in front of someone new.

I will be back tomorrow with day 2,165.

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/T8ysN2QJOaI