The Wall

[The Moose]

Someone asked me the other day about "The Wall".  What it really is, what it feels like.
To be honest, I really can't give a good answer.  In my mind the wall is a mythical place, described to me as the point in a race where you feel you can't run any farther, but after some struggle decide you can.
I'm not sure I've ever reached a place that seemed to me like the right place to stop.  To me, that place is the finish line.  Having said that, I've often reached the decision that I've either gone out too fast, or came in woefully ill-pepared.
I've had the feeling that I'm running up a hill, and it's gotten too steep for my level of fitness, but never to a wall I can't get over.  I thought maybe some of you can describe "The wall" to me so that I can share it with non-runners.
None of this is to say that I've never reached the end of my rope in a competitive venture.  I've "bonked" so badly on a bike that I actually had a nap in a ditch, and I have DNF'd twice while running.  Maybe I haven't pushed myself hard enough to hit "The Wall" while running (although I did implode spectacularly during the Pitter Patter).
I'd like to hear some feedback on this one, because maybe I do know what it is, I've just not put the right label on it.

Mike

[Paul]

 Good question,does everyone hit The Wall, but at a different distance or time?
Since Mike runs marathon and 42.2km seems normal to him will he find a wall at 50km?
Will a 3 hr. marathoner avoid The Wall and a 4hr. plus marathoner crash into it?
Having not yet attempted The Full I don't have any answers, just questions.
Help! Someone must have an oppinion.

                                                                      Paul 

[Jane]

I found a couple of websites and articles on it -- don't know if it helps or not. 

http://www.marathonandbeyond.com/choices/latta.htm

http://david.ziegler.ws/running/tips/the-wall

I don't know that I can honestly say that I have actually ever hit the wall.  I know that I lost it for awhile around mile 18 when we did Disney.  But I got it back.  So can you hit the wall and recover to continue on?  Or was it truly the wall if you do recover? 

I remember seeing a guy when we did the Zoo Run, which was only a 10K, staggering and ending up having to be taken away and that was only at about 7K!  Can you hit the wall at 7K???  Maybe he had a rough night????

Is there a difference between "hitting the wall" and "bonking?"

[SNOWRUNNER]

"The wall"...hummm...well, to me it hits when my head has had enough music and the tune box goes off.I think that the body tells you that concentration is needed, i listen to my breathing and my thoughts get all jumbled.Running on road is different than on trail.On trail you have no time for loss concentration, trail is much harder, thus making bonking a little tougher.While on road, it`s a lot like driving, you can run and sorta lose it, same continuous foot motion, repetative body mechanics, this is not so on the trail races, but the question is how much can we take?..this fall i will be attempting my first trail ultra..50k...bonk like on road?..does trail running delay the bonk due to the body mechanics and concentration needed?..good question, but it may be an individual thing...like running it`s self.
                               David Storey..

[Sandy]

The wall traditionally refers to running out of glycogen in the muscles and bonking refers to running out of glycogen to the brain.  If you are fastidious about ingesting carbs during your run it is not an inevitable thing that you will hit the wall or bonk, regardless of the distance.  There has been some research done that points to protein breakdown as being the cause of hitting the wall.  The theory goes that you get about 15% of your energy from protein.  Because we only store protein in our muscles the body breaks down our muscle tissue to access it.  As the break down occurs our mind, trying to preserve the body slow us down or stop us so that we will stop hurting ourselves.  This has led to products that contain protein for ingestion during endurance events.

The easy answer is it is related to nutrition DURING an event and if a runner stays on top of it they will not hit the wall or bonk. 

[The Moose]

This explains why most of us "modern" athletes can't say that we've hit the wall.  And I'm not a silly 16 year old anymore who goes out biking for hours with no food or money, no more bonking for me.

Thanks Sandy.

Mike