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As some of you know, I write this blog from Southern California. This weekend is the Los Angeles Marathon so I thought it would be a good time to post some recent research on the psychology of marathoning.


If you've run a marathon then you may know about HTW -- the generalized fatigue, unintentional slowing of pace, desire to walk, and shifting focus to survival that are all characteristics of the dreaded Hitting The Wall.


Recently, researchers from the Center for Performance Enhancement and Applied Research at Springfield College in Massachusetts did a study to better understand the phenomenon of Hitting The Wall (HTW). In their study of over 300 men and women marathoners (who had run an average of 7.8 marathons), 43% reported that they hit the wall during a marathon. From a physiological perspective HTW happens when our glycogen supplies have been exhausted and energy has to be converted from the fat we have stored in our body. But what happens psychologically?

We know from previous research by Morgan that there is a difference in the ways elite and non-elite runners cope with HTW. Non-elites respond to HTW by disassociating themselves from the experience, cutting themselves off from sensory feedback from their body by thinking of distracting thoughts (eg. that last trip to Hawaii, the cold beer waiting for them at the finish line, napping the rest of the afternoon). Elites, on the other hand, pay even more attention to their body and use their awareness of physical factors to improve their performance.

Here are some interesting facts that the Center for Performance Enhancement and Applied Research researchers found about hitting the wall:

• HTW is more likely to occur in males than in females.


• HTW does not seem to affect one's finish times. It's very possible that runners who report HTW push their pace at the beginning of the marathon and then slow down when they hit the wall as opposed to runners who don't hit the wall and maintain a consistent (albeit slower pace) throughout.


• Your longest training run is a good predictor of whether or not you will HTW. The greater the distance of your longest training run, the less chance you have of HTW.


• If you've HTW in the past, you are more likely to do it again.

Two other significant findings stand out.

First, if, prior to the start of the race, you expect to hit the wall you have a greater chance of doing so. Expectancy counts.

Second, hitting the wall does not seem to increase the likelihood that you will actually drop out of the race. It may be slow going but you'll finish.

So if your running the LA Marathon this Sunday, or have a marathon planned in your future, there are two things you can do to help make your run a good one.

• Train long (probably not so good for this weekend's race, but keep it in mind for the next one!).


• Think positive. Don't plan on hitting the wall. Visualize yourself successfully making it to the finish without having to slow down. In fact, imagine yourself finishing the second half of the marathon, faster than the first.

As is often the case in sport and in life, what you believe can happen will happen.

References:

Buman, M. P., Brewer, B.W., Cornelius, A.E., Van Raalte, J.L., & Petitpas, A.E. (2008). Hitting the wall in the marathon: Phenomenological characteristics and associations with expectancy, gender, and running history. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 9, 177-190.

Morgan, W. P. (1978). The mind of the marathoner, Psychology Today, 11, 38-49.