With record numbers of runners lacing up to run marathons, more of them will face the infamous experience of “hitting the wall.” Hitting the wall is the phenomenon where runners experience a sudden onset of debilitating fatigue, difficulty keeping pace, and often, a shift away from their goal pace towards surviving until the finish line.
The wall is brought on by a depletion of the body’s energy stores after prolonged physical exertion, often around the 34-kilometre mark of the marathon. While nutrition and pacing may prevent the wall, about 50 per cent of recreational marathon runners, especially novice ones, report being acquainted with this running “rite of passage.”
Even if runners avoid the wall, most runners will experience fatigue and discomfort over the course of a marathon. The fatigue and suffering can feel like an unfair payoff after months of training.
Hitting the wall
I have run 10 marathons and during some, I hit the wall. As an exercise psychology researcher, I was disappointed that I didn’t cope better when I first encountered the wall. My initial response involved typical negative thoughts (for example, I will never finish), emotions (despair, panic) and a desire to quit. Like many other runners do, I tried to distract myself, deny what was happening and suppress my negative thoughts and emotions.
This didn’t work well and research explains why. Such coping strategies can use up cognitive resources, paradoxically increasing rumination and undermining performance.
Since those early marathons, I have learned a lot about mindfulness through my research and teaching at the University of Manitoba. I was able to bring mindfulness to a recent marathon where I was reunited with the wall. This approach offered me an alternative to trying to suppress and control my thoughts and feelings, which allowed me to cope better.
Rather than trying to change what is happening, mindfulness involves changing our relationship with what is happening. When mindful, we intentionally pay attention to and allow whatever is happening, without judgment. Mindfulness allows us to be objective observers of our present experience which creates distance from, rather than entanglement with, our experience.
Using mindfulness to get over the wall
What might it look like to bring mindfulness to the experience of hitting the wall?
1. Observe without judging
Notice the present moment without judgment. Get curious about what is happening and try not to judge things as good or bad — just observe them. Upon noticing the sudden onset of fatigue, runners may ask themselves, “what does fatigue feel like?”, or “where in my body do I feel fatigue the most?” In answering these questions, runners can maintain objectivity by describing what they feel such as, “my legs feel heavy” instead of inserting judgment (for example, “my legs are shot”). This objective stance may help runners stay present with the experience and not get carried away interpreting and judging what is going on.
This curious and objective noticing can also be applied to thoughts and feelings, which can often become catastrophic when runners hit the wall. A runner may observe themselves thinking, “This is terrible. I will never finish.” They can aim to notice the difference from the discomfort they feel and the stories they tell themselves about this discomfort, which are not absolute truths. By noticing thoughts and feelings, runners are less likely to get carried away by them; mindfulness has been shown to help people cope with dysfunctional thoughts and feelings.
2. Focus on the present
Bring your attention back to the present moment. Runners may also notice when their attention shifts from the present to the past (what they could have done differently) or the future (the entire distance they still must run). When facing the wall, it may help runners to anchor their attention in aspects of the present, such as physiological sensations, the rhythm of their steps or the immediate sights and sounds. The last time I hit the wall, I found it helpful to limit my focus to the kilometre I was running, rather than thinking about those I had yet to run.
3. Accept the present moment
Mindfulness also involves accepting the present moment. For marathon runners, this acceptance can be extended to the discomfort associated with hitting the wall. Given that hitting the wall is common, especially for novice runners, runners can accurately interpret the phenomenon as what happens when the body runs low on energy — rather than some catastrophic sign that all is lost. Phrases like “this is the hard part” or “this is part of running a marathon” may help runners accept rather than ruminate about the wall.
Mindfulness and endurance
While I offer these strategies to marathon runners who hit the wall, they can be applied to the general fatigue and discomfort inherent to any endurance activity. Mindfulness has been associated with many positive outcomes for endurance athletes including flow experiences, mental toughness, improved running economy, reduced catastrophizing about pain and reduced performance deficits.
Furthermore, the benefits of mindfulness have been established broadly, beyond the athlete population.
Much like marathon training, mindfulness is best developed through ongoing training. Runners who regularly practise mindfulness — whether through a daily meditation, everyday mindfulness or both — will more easily apply this skill when needed.
In my experience applying mindfulness to the wall, it did not make the wall go away, but it helped me keep a level head while I approached the rest of my race one kilometre at a time, and ensured I had a good enough experience to sign up for another one!
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