My goal at the start of the year was to try and get the best age category time for the Perth marathon, for my age group ( 55-60) it was just shy of three hours, 2:59:09 to be precise. To this end I trained very hard for the Bibra Lake Marathon in July to use as a yardstick to see how close I was , or would be, in October. At Bibra I managed a respectable 3:04 hanging onto the sub3 bus for 26 kilometres before cruising home at a reasonable pace. This gave me a lot of confidence that with two more months training I could find that four minutes or so I needed to break the record in Perth.
Unfortunately I had the small matter of a backyard ultra booked in for August and inbetween recovery and tapering and then racing a BYU my training went to pot in August. This gave me a four week window but after a poor showing in the BYU , and inclement weather, my training was poor, consistent, but poor. By poor I mean I ran most days but no real marathon specific sessions. I also noticed my quicker pace was slower than pre-Bibra and I could feel my marathon fitness ebbing away. Truth be told I really gave up chasing sub three hours at Perth as soon as I made my mind up to race Birdy’s backyard in August. There wasn’t time to do both well and my marathon training suffered.
Unperturbed I did enough to give me confidence I could run three hours and ten minutes or quicker and it would be a good exercise to check out the course for another attempt next year, being 58 in 2025. What could possibly go wrong ? As it was it seems a lot can go wrong when you run to a time you have no right to run to, that’s marathon running. !
Number 1 by association, not talent. I’m a friend of the Race Director.
Back in the day I had managed to grab a few number one bibs for the City to Surf marathons and normally from the same Race Director, who now organises the Perth Running Festival. I managed to pull a few favours and had the honour of running one more time with the number 1 pinned to my chest.
With my good friends getting changed in the car park, me not them.
Getting changed in the car park before the event I bumped into Johannes, Jon and Adam. It was marathon number 100 for Jon which is an incredible achievement and more so as he’s still running sub three hour marathons and chasing PB’s. He would run 2:52 , a great time. Adam was running his first marathon for six years and ran a 3:08 suffering with cramp later in the race, he’ll be back to running sub three and beyond in no time. Johannes is chasing Ironman glory in December and is racing often and well, he ran a 3:10 .
Me and Jon and some fast Africans at the start.
Jon and I tucked up behind the Africans at the start, managed to keep them honest for a hundred metres or so and then left them to their own race while I freewheeled waiting for the three hour bus to catch me up. As it was the three hour bus caught me up around nine kilometres into the event and then rolled over the top of me pretty quickly. This was not a good sign as my legs were heavy and I watched the three hour bus disappear around twelve or thirteen kilometres, this left me in no mans land with a long way to go to the finish. From the start I knew I was in for a long day at the office. I was reminded of Melbourne in 2022 when the same thing happened, dropped from the three hour bus early and then staggering to the finish. I was hoping I could do better this time and up until half way I was still ahead of Melbourne pace.
Hamming it up to the crown with my best Lleyton Hewitt. C’mon !
The course is all on road closures which sounds good but it did lead to some wide open roads and little crowd support in some areas. Although the day was warm and humid there was little wind to talk off, which was a good thing. I couldn’t image a head wind for any part of the course as you’d be totally exposed. As it was I was searching out shade when I could but for the most part was unsuccessful. That being said the course is flat enough to be a fast option but also there’s enough undulation to keep most muscle groups firing. Overall I think the course is good for a fast time but the weather conditions are the limiting factor, the last two years it has been humid and running an event in October you are always playing with the weathers gods. Funnily enopugh the week prior there was thunderstorms and torrential rain, with wind, that would have been unpleasant?
I ran through half way around 1:35 but by then all dreams of sub3 were well and truly over. The wheels started to fall off pretty quickly between 21k and 32k , although in my defence this was on the Kwinana Freeway which is a very long section of open road with little to look at apart from more open road, not the prettiest scenery although it was cool getting so close to the trains that were still running in the middle of the freeway. When we came off the Kwinana freeway and headed towards the Nedlands turn around , running past the iconic Swan Brewery, the wheels disappeared completely. Due to lack of proper marathon specific training , heat and humidity I hit the marathon wall right on cue, virtually 32k on the button. I have highlighted this on many occasions in my previous posts but this was the first time since my first marathon, in 2002, that I had succumbed to the wall. A part of me found it amusing that even after 48 marathons I can still make rookie errors albeit I also understood what was coming my way over the next ten or so kilometres. I thought back to the fist time I had hit the wall in the 2002 Perth Marathon and the feeling of not understanding why my legs just wouldn’t move, it was surreal being mentally fine but physically the body had checked out. I always remember the encouragement from the crowd being more out of worry and the looks on their faces was telling a different story to the encouraging ‘you can do it‘ , ‘looking good‘ and ‘nearly there’ . I had seen this before but only when the runner looked like they were about to implode, today I was ‘that runner’.
I moved into damage mitigation for the last ten kilometres , walking though every other aid station to make sure I got a good cup full of Gatorade or water. My times didn’t blow out and I managed to hold sub 5min/k pace to the finish. My final goal was to finish ahead of the 3:15 bus which ran over me with the finish in site. This did inspire me to speed up and I managed to break 3:15 by three seconds, finishing two seconds behind the bus drivers.
Made it by a few seconds.
So marathon number 48 done and dusted, I’ll take some learnings from this one and that’s the point , to continue to enjoy the event but also take something from each one. You never know I may even improve and take out that elusive sub three age group record in 2025, funnier things have happened ? Major learning is respect the distance and set your achievable pace early, don’t assume all will end well with experience. I knew I was never going to break sub three hours but was hoping for maybe a sub three hours ten minutes ? The extra four or five minutes doesn’t sound a lot in the scheme of things but trust me , at ten kilometres to go with nothing in the tank, that extra five minutes is bloody hard.
One for the pool room, just need to buy a pool room !
Post race I stumbled back to my car parked a few kilometres away and couldn’t then get back up to the start to celebrate Jon’s 100 marathons. with the crew. I felt guilty but I was in no state to drink and even walk, it was all I could do to drive home and stumble into a hot bath which was better than my first marathon when I called my Wife from the car port to be helped out of the car and then persuaded my neighbour to let me use his bath, happy memories. (maybe not so happy for my neighbour at the time?)
The gangs all here bar me, I was away getting changed and couldn’t manage the walk back.
Finally another big shout out to my good mate Jon Pendse who ran his 100th marathon at Perth, which includes over 50 sub three marathons and many marathon victories. He is the Duracell bunny of marathon running, he just keeps on keeping on. Next on his radar is 100 sub 3 marathons and that’s take him to legendary status and then who knows, he could even look at 100 ultra marathons, the sky is the limit for Jon. Well done buddy, we are all very proud of you.
100 marathons and counting… even finished in the top 20 with a 2:52 time.
So what’s next ? No rest for the wicked of course, in less than four weeks I’m taking on the Feral Pig 100 miler , racing on the bibbulmun track. ( https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/ ). I think there’s still a few spots left if you want to join me ? ( https://feralpigultra.com.au/ ) This is one of my favorite events but also one of the hardest. A midnight KO Friday night means two nights with no sleep which makes for wicked hallucinations on Sunday morning. The course also runs through the finish line with a further forty or so hard kilometres to go, it’s a big mental effort to run past your car and continue and head out to the ‘death loop‘ . The course itself it mainly brutal single track and add in the temperature, which is either hot or really hot, and it’s one tough mother of an event. Need to pull my finger out and get onto the trails or I’ll be facing another long day at the office albeit on the trails this can also be a good thing ?
From https://readysetmarathon.com/hitting-the-wall-in-a-marathon-why-it-happens-and-8-tips-to-prevent-it/
Hitting the Wall in a Marathon: Why It Happens and 8 Tips to Prevent It
One of my non-marathon running friends recently asked about “hitting the wall” in the marathon wondering if it’s a real thing. (Where you feel the sudden onset of fatigue.) I told him that unfortunately, it is very real. I’ve spent time strategizing the best ways to avoid this from happening, and want to share it with all of you. Because hitting the wall is not fun! So let’s find out why hitting the wall in a marathon happens and what steps to take to prevent it.
Hitting the wall in the marathon happens because the body can only store 2,000 calories of glycogen (the fuel you use to run) which is usually used within 20 miles. Being that the marathon is 26.2 miles long, for 6+ miles your body has to use fat for fuel which is a much less efficient process.
Luckily there are ways to train your body to push through the “wall” or even so you never feel it at all. Here you’ll learn more about what hitting the wall (also known as bonking) in a marathon feels like, why it happens, and this good stuff:
8 tips to implement to avoid hitting the wall from happening including:
Run higher mileage in training.
Incorporate at least 3 long runs of 20+ miles during your training.
Put medium-long runs into your training.
Try running “carb-free” on your easy runs.
Practice your mental game.
Carbo-load before your marathon.
Don’t go out too fast.
Follow a proper fueling/hydration strategy during the marathonthat includes carbs.
Hitting the wall can be overcome!
Hitting the Wall in a Marathon: Symptoms and What it Feels Like
Though you can certainly feel exhausted in lots of sports or after a hard workout, it’s not the same as the wall that endurance athletes refer to. So it’s not to be confused with being tired and it isn’t something you’re most likely going to experience in shorter races. It COULD happen in a long training run, but isn’t likely to happen for most people in the 16 and below mileage range.
So, if it’s not just about getting tired when you run, what does hitting the wall feel like exactly?
Here’s how you know you’ve “hit the wall” or “bonked” in your race or long run:
You’re in the 18-22 mile range
You’ve been feeling good or great up until that point and suddenly you don’t anymore.
You have a strong urge to walk
a feeling of “dead legs”
dizziness
Negative thoughts and doubt creep in
Both your mind and your body want to quit
You feel completely depleted (and that’s because you are! Read on…)
This is different from being ready to quit after an intense speed session when you feel like your heart might explode. Rather, this is a pace you’ve been able to carry for maybe 20 miles or more when, with almost no warning, you feel like you can’t run anymore. And it sucks. Yet, it’s completely normal.
Why Marathon Runners Hit the Wall
Though “the wall” or “bonking” are just coined terms for this feeling, there’s actually a scientific reason behind it all.
Fortunately, it’s actually pretty easy to understand.
Your body needs energy and for most people that comes from tapping into glycogen stores. It’s essentially our fuel reserve found in our liver and muscles. Your body can also metabolize fat, but unless you’ve trained your body to do this, it’s a much slower process than using glycogen stores.
The problem is that, in general, a body can only hold about 2,000 calories worth of glycogen. Perfectly fine in everyday life, not so much for a marathon runner. Once that glycogen’s used up, your body has to start the much less efficient process of burning fat. This quick math shows where the problem lies:
2,000 calories stored up divided by (an average of) 100 calories burned per mile = hitting the wall at mile 20
If only our body stored 2,620 calories that would be so much better, right?! Darn. And some people store closer to 1,800 or so, making the bonk come that much sooner.
So many people wonder what the hardest mile of a marathon is, which I discuss in this article, and for most, it’s wherever hitting the wall decides to show up. But does it show up for everyone, or is there a way to avoid it?
Is it Possible to Avoid Hitting the Wall in a Marathon?
As a marathon runner, if you’ve ever hit the wall, then you’re in good company. According to this study of over 300 marathon runners, 43% of them reported common symptoms of hitting the wall. But common or not, it’s an encounter we’d prefer to skip if at all possible.
Top 8 Tips to Avoid Hitting the Wall in a Marathon
Run higher mileage in training. Being able to run farther, longer, and faster is the name of the game when it comes to marathons. High mileage is a large contributing factor in how well your body can maintain your goal pace for the duration of the marathon since its purpose is to build your body’s aerobic engine. Getting in goal pace miles is important, but note that optimal long-run pace is generally about 55 – 75% of your 5k pace (as stated by Coach Jeff here on Runners Connect.)I love using the Mcmillan calculator to figure out what paces I should be running, by the way!
Incorporate at least 3 long runs of 20+ miles during your training. The long run is probably the single best indicator of how you’ll fare in your marathon. That’s not to say that quality workouts and the rest of the mileage through your week isn’t important, but safely building those long runs week to week is what really prepares you for the main event of 26.2 miles. Though long runs should be run at much slower pace, these 20+ miler runs are like a dress rehearsal.
Try running “carb-free” on your easy runs. Training without consuming carbs before or during an easy run will help your body adapt to utilizing more fat for fuel. I personally would never try this on a quality/speed workout or long run, but I do it pretty often for those easy runs of 7 miles or less.
Practice your mental game. Yes, the physiological component of hitting the wall comes from a depletion of glycogen in your body. But, you CAN overcome it with sheer will and grit. Remember that your mind will try to give up long before your body actually would need to. The trick is to learn how to just.keep.going. Practice your positive mental strategies in your long runs and these will pay dividends in your marathon. Promise.
Carbo-load before your marathon. You should be getting as much glycogen stored in your body (without overdoing it) in the week before your marathon. This is not the time to feel guilty about consuming those extra carbs! Your body will rely on it more than you can know. Need more info about how to go about the carbo-load? Read: The Carbo-Load: Why do marathon runners do this?
Don’t go out too fast. This is one of the top mistakes of new marathon runners. It’s even tough to do when you know better – I’ve been there and it’s hard to pull the reigns in when you feel so good. But this will matter big time later in your race. Don’t go any faster than your goal pace in the beginning, and staying on the conservative side for the first 10k or more is a smart racing strategy. “Banking time” won’t be your friend, and you can read more about that here.
Follow a proper fueling/hydration strategy during the marathonthat includes carbs. A simple electrolyte isn’t going to cut it. You have to make sure you’re ingesting approximately 30 – 60 grams of carbohydrates every 45 minutes to 1 hour in a marathon. This can come in the form of gels, liquids, or solids – depending on what you prefer. But it needs to be easily digestible, so be sure you practice your fueling strategy during long runs before the big day. My go-to is the Sword Endurance drink. And start this early on in your marathon – do not wait!
Make sure you do at least 2-3 long runs of 20 miles or more to prepare for your marathon to avoid the “wall.”
Overcoming the Dreaded Wall Even When You Can’t Avoid It
Ultimately, there will be times when you hit the wall even when you’ve tried to do everything you could to keep it from showing up. Here’s the thing – just because it rears its ugly head, doesn’t mean you have to succumb to it. And a lot of that comes from how you choose to mentally cope with it.
In this Runner’s World Q & A with sports scientist Tim Noakes, he states that he believes the brain directs exercise performance as a way to save ourselves from overexertion by strenuous exercise. What this means is that though you may feel like you’re going to die, you’re actually not. You have to train your brain to be able to overcome the physical pain that comes with hitting the wall. You can go so much farther than you could ever imagine.
So what should you do if you’ve hit the wall? Is it possible to push through?
Unless you’re feeling dizzy or disoriented (in which case you’ll want to assess if you’re in danger with a possible visit the medic tent), you can absolutely get through bonking.
The best thing to do at this point is distract yourself in any way that you can and stay positive. Tap into your mental training that you utilized during all of your long runs. I highly recommend choosing a mantra or two you can run through your head over and over when the going gets tough. “The body achieves what the mind believes,” was mine in my last race. I probably said it to myself at least 100 times. It works!
And if you have to slow the pace down, then do so! But if you never intended to walk in your marathon, I would strongly urge you to just keep running for as long as you possibly are able.
Big shout out to fisiocrem , this product is just incredible for tired and aching legs. I use it daily and have noticed a vast improvement in recovery.
Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-
As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.
In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.
In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.
BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!
BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!
Great hydration.
What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !
Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in. It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong, storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
