do good/experienced runners hit the wall in a marathon?

Check out the results of any given marathon and you will see just how much *most* people slow down at the end of a marathon. Fast people do. Slow people do. It usually seems that the very fastest that day did not slow down very much (or possibly even negative split) but you will also see that some pretty fast, experienced people still hit a wall.

I ran near dead even splits in my last 2 marathons. I think a lot of it was due to: 1. reasonable goal (like not pie in the sky or do or die kind of goal; just one I knew I could do) 2. Going very slow in the first 5k and picking it up after that but keeping the pace in check until about 18 miles where I increased the effort (but the pace stayed about the same) 3. I carbo loaded like a maniac and took 5 gels during the race, which I think helped a lot. But I sure have many experiences hitting some major wall in the last 6-7 miles. It can really suck.

not john wrote:

I never experienced anything that would be like hitting a wall. Did I just not go far enough, or did 8 years of fairly competitive running and 80-90 mile weeks just prepare my body to the point that there won't be a "wall" because my body has dealt with depleted glycogen stores before?

If you want to test yourself and see what it is like, run 6 miles longer than you normally do and run it around :45/mile faster than you normally do. Have you run a marathon? There is quite a big difference between 20 miles and 26 miles, while in a race and especially in training.

Hitting the wall can happen to anyone. Look at the elites in the 2013 London Marathon. No amount of training will make up for poor decision making. Going out too fast will inevitably lead to a massive crash at some point in a marathon.

A poor diet or under training will also put you in this nightmare situation of pure hell. Trying to explain the feeling of hitting the wall to someone who has never hit it is like trying to explain colour to a blind man. I have seen guys with 100+ marathons go through it.

You probably paced yourself well and didn't force your body to waste it's precious glycogen store. I hope you never have to go through it as it was the most challenging thing I have ever faced mentally and physically. It sneaks up on you without you ever noticing and all of a sudden POP!!!

Your pace dramatically falls off by a minute+ per mile and your legs completely seize and your muscles feel like they are tearing off your bones and your mind falls into a dark place filled with unending feeling of impending doom. Even with 50m left to go, you are still unsure if you will ever get to the line.

If you make good decisions and train properly, you may be one of the lucky few who never have to experience this.

Run beyond your ability and you will hit a wall. Look at any major marathon ever. Gebs hit the wall douche.

Good runners hit the wall, yes.

You will too.

Dennis Reynolds 2.0 wrote:

Run beyond your ability and you will hit a wall. Look at any major marathon ever. Gebs hit the wall douche.

Damn Dennis, the guy's just asking a question. Calm down.

Ask Dathan Ritzenhein.