My daughter is a 7th grader who is running "real" cross country for the first time this year for her junior high. She regularly has issues with severe side cramps that impact her performance. She's also a high level club soccer player and we have learned over the years that if she eats anything... and I mean anything, within about 4 hours of a game/race, she will get a side stitch. Looking at the chart below, there is also somewhat of a correlation with hilly races as well (although it is potentially a coincidence).

The races in red are indicative of her having a side stitch:

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https://preview.redd.it/h7b9ohi4doqb1.png?width=763&format=png&auto=webp&s=0502d7984805d8302401051268dd5f8996e1a340

On the three side stitch days, she ate lunch at school a couple of hours before her meet. The other 3 races (one was a morning race) she did not eat any lunch and did not have cramping issues.

While it seems we can mostly control the cramps by not eating within 4-5 hours of a race, I don't feel that is likely the wisest path nutritionally. My question is, any advice on how to proceed other than not eating? Is it related to breathing and the diaphragm working too hard with something in her stomach?

She's frustrated and I just don't have enough history with exercise physiology to provide her with potential solutions to work with.