Gwen still did a pr and a pr is a PR. Nevertheless, it's not in the ball park where she wanted it to be. But a pr is a pr.
I hope she realizes the marathon is a different sort of animal. There is no bluffing your way through. When you hit the wall, it's real and there's really no way around it other than through. It's a matter of how much time you lose to get through the dips that will dictate the end result.
She felt badly at the end, she had a terrible experience. She is learning. She'll deal with the weaknesses.
She had a temperature in the beginning of the week. She was a tad under and didn't feel up to par but the champion that she is she thought she could pull it out. And that's ok, She's trained to think that way. I think she needs to expand her thinking though that the marathon is not a smooth ride. It's how you handle the crisis and carry on. I suggest some free weights , deadlifts, bench and have an all out strength day at least every 10 days or two weeks.
It's way to early for her, I think, to drop the marathon She needs time and MORE distance simulators. One to harden herself to the ebbs and flo of the marathon. To be able to muscle through a bad patch just by holding form. That takes strength. She was pretty steady at around 18 minutes per 5k. Two, I think the social media she is doing is robbing her energy bit by bit. I think she should go under the radar for awhile and get busy. All the adrenaline that flows out taxes her pituitary glands and her thyroid and her kidneys.