How to Avoid the Wall in Your MARATHON: 4 Top Tips

Hitting the wall, or bonking, in the marathon is unfortunately very common. But you can avoid it - here are my top 4 strategies (including nutrition & pacing) to have a successful finish to your marathon.

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[michael]

I remember a saying a good friend once told me. "The marathon is broken into two equal parts. The first 20 miles and the last 6."

[kevinmichie]

Never realized how important the amount of carbs per hour were until I finally started getting into runs that were over an hour. I used to struggle going beyond an hour of running, but adding a gel every 30ish minutes made a world of difference!

[jjjjjj]

To me it's useful to differentiate between between 2 different flavors of hitting the wall:
1. Lactic acid buildup/muscle fatigue. Usually caused by pacing incorrectly. This can happen at any race distance and is probably more common across the running population as a whole. If you hit this at mile 10 in a half it won't kill you but if it happens at mile 15 in a full you still have a very long way to go and it will be rather unpleasant and you can probably kiss your goal time goodbye.
2. Glycogen depletion. This seems to be mentioned a lot more often but it is pretty specific to marathon+ distances., and is usually caused by insufficient nutrition. I haven't experienced it personally but it sounds a lot more difficult to recover from.

[jameschaves]

As a 3:03 Marathoner I found this to be a very good introductory VLOG. You’re doing a good job at informing beginners how to avoid a terrible experience.

[openwater]

All said is 100% correct. I have bonked twice in my first few marathons, no strategy, no watch ... and its horrible. Fuel the body and manage your heart rate.

[Kaz.]

Thanks Jane!! I’m 5 months out from my first marathon.. seriously cannot wait!

[msmary]

Great tips! So glad I found your channel!

[tarryndale]

Thanks for the video! Very helpful as a newbie marathon runner ❤

[animalladyful]

Thanks for the tips!! Really didn't realise how critical gels were in my last year of training until I did a 35km long run recently on only 2 gels and really banked at the end. Going for my first 'official' marathon tomorrow and will try and have at least 4 gels which will hopefully see me through at my target time of sub 4! 🤞 thanks again!

[chaz]

Who has the time to do a 50-60 miles a week! 😮 I have to make sacrifices to run 20-25 miles!

[TeamSnagginWhiskers]

Thanks for a great video. I’m the king of an 8:45 pace the first 20 miles and a 10:30 pace the last 6. My sub 4 marathon turns into a 4:10 very quickly. I’ll try your advice with slowing down and consistent long runs in training. Thanks for the video!! And good luck at Boston!

[fudgepads]

It happened to me, I ran pretty much the last 10 miles with "the wall" feeling. I only trained for about 1 month, which is definitely not enough. I managed to finish in 4 hours and 4 minutes but running on just willpower is definitely not the way to go😅, it was very demanding and draining. I'll definitely prepare better for it and hopefully enjoy the experience more next time. Thank you for the tips.

[underwaterlevelz]

BQed in my first marathon last October (Hartford) but bonked at mile 21. Had a sub 3 pace turn into a 3:07. Really trying to make the cutoff for Boston 2025, so I'm doing "pancake flat" Sri Chimnoy in Lake Congers NY in August. I've been doing 13-15 miles per run 5 days per week this offseason

[shannonpitonyak]

In the past I’ve done a gu every 4 miles. That was ok when I was younger. Now I’m going to try every half hour, especially since I get nauseous at the end. I’m also going to try some actual food this time like I did for my first couple of marathons. Nerves have gotten so bad for my last few marathons that it’s hard to eat. Thanks for your videos!

[jameshickey]

I am doing my first half marathon in may
It going to be first experience for me and I am going to enjoy myself .

[jacob.m.deem_md]

3:59 The heart doesn’t necessarily get “larger” as you exercise like other muscles might. The walls become more elastic and the effective volume of the ventricles gets larger.

Also, the heart doesn’t have a higher stroke rate from exercise and likely the opposite. It does have a larger stroke volume, the amount of blood the heart pumps per beat.

[kingtrumpet]

there's another great vid, WOW Jane, I thought you were 7 feet tall and made of steel !!! and your 100lbs or so, no wonder I start feeling a "little wonky" on my long runs of about 1 hr45 min., I'm 200lbs. and burning way more calories than you, I actually NEVER thought about total glycogen stored, but yeah, nearing the 2 hr mark, I've nearly exhausted those 2000 calories of glycogen and I'm not even close to 20 miles - guess I need to recalculate some stuff, thank you, have an Awesomeness week

[jpsmooth]

Preparing for my 1st (and quite possibly ONLY) marathon in March (personal goal before I hit a milestone birthday) and I'm so glad I found your channel. I've been toying around with carb sources during long runs, but I'm curious if there are any substantial "food options" instead of relying on liquid/gels? I spotted Honey Stinger waffles and was curious if they're worth a try to have on hand. Anything else that might work in your experience? New subscriber btw!

[michaelmay]

I hit the brick wall hard in my first marathon. I think I took three gels altogether. Need about seven next time it seems like!

[Weegie_in_Spain]

I've run 13 marathons and never taken a gel either in training or in a race. Key to running without gels are fasted runs in training. Just a single glass of water before going for a run is key. I've run even pacing my last 3 marathons, 3:09 being my last marathon.