Almost everyone who has ever run a marathon has hit the proverbial "wall." You might call it "bonking," "the bear jumping on your back," or something else, but there is a point around the twenty mile mark of the marathon where the race has taken a turn for the worse as your body decides that it can no longer continue at the pace you had maintained for the first part of the race. The severity of the wall varies from slowing down a few seconds per mile for the very lucky (or very well prepared) to having to stop and walk for those people whose wall is almost insurmountable.

Is it unusual that most people experience similar problems at the same part of the marathon? No, and the reason is fairly simple - the wall appears at approximately the same point in the race for most people because most humans have the same amount of fuel in their muscles to get them to about the same point in the race - around twenty miles. Runners generally have enough carbohydrate stored in their muscles to keep them running for about twenty miles. To keep your body going beyond that point, your muscles have to utilize a different type of fuel - in this case, fats. Fats, which are used by untrained runners only at slower speeds, can be used to keep your body running for hundreds of miles. Because the body does not use stored fat as easily as carbohydrates, most people feel their energy crash about twenty miles into the marathon as they hit the wall.

If you've ever watched a major marathon on television, or read race accounts, you might have noticed that elite runners do not always look like they are hitting the wall. In fact, elite runners often run the second half of the race faster than the first half, finding enough energy to run very quickly over the final 6.2 miles of the race. Cosmas Ndeti made a name for himself in the history of the Boston Marathon in the early 1990s by not only winning three consecutive races, but also running negative splits in each win. When Catherine Ndereba set a new world record of 2:18:47 at the 2001 Chicago Marathon, she ran the second half of the race a minute and a half faster than the first.

Unfortunately, most runners do not have enough time or energy to train like world-class distance runners. Finding enough time to run 180-200 miles per week is a major time commitment that can only be accomplished by dedicating your life to running. However, that does not mean that you are helpless to avoid crashing into the wall when you compete at the 26.2-mile distance. Even if you have a busy lifestyle, there are some things that you can do in your training to help you run through the wall rather than crashing into it.

In order to successfully run strong over the final six plus miles of the marathon, you need to train your body to make its supply of carbohydrate calories last until the end of the race. To do this, you need to teach your body to use fats as a partial source of energy throughout the effort, rather than changing drastically around the twenty-mile mark. While this sounds very complicated, the training exercise is surprisingly simple - make a long run part of your training plan on a regular basis. Even if you do not have enough time to run more than 40-50 miles per week, you can still be very successful at the marathon if you can find enough time one day each week to get in a crucial long run. By going on training runs of 20-30 miles, you can teach your body to gradually use fats as an energy source so that your limited carbohydrate supply can last the full 26.2 miles.

Other preparations that can help you get through a marathon without hitting the wall include marathon pace runs. Runs of eight to sixteen miles at your projected marathon pace can be done as part of your long run, or done as a separate workout elsewhere in the week. This workout will help you become comfortable and familiar with the effort that you will be undertaking in competition. Racing a 10-mile or half marathon at least a month before the marathon is another important step in preparing for a successful marathon. In addition to making you comfortable running at sub-marathon race pace, a shorter distance race will provide a time from which to approximate your current marathon ability. Having a realistic expectation for the marathon is crucial to providing a goal pace that should guide you through at least the first half of the upcoming marathon.

After you have done your best to prepare for the marathon itself, you have to run smart during the big day to maximize your chances of breaking through the wall rather than hitting it. Despite the adrenaline and excitement that usually accompanies the start of marathons, especially the larger ones, you have to learn to control yourself early in the race. The vast majority of people who hit the wall at the end of a race have themselves to blame, and specifically the first few miles of the race that they ran too quickly. Because a taper can leave you with an over-abundance of energy, it is very easy for the early miles of a marathon to feel slow, even if they are faster than planned. You will need to wear a watch and pay close attention to each of the first few miles, making sure that they are on pace, or even slightly slower than goal pace.

Throughout the race, remember that it is most efficient to run an even effort rather than an even pace. This means that your pace should not remain constant if there are hills or significant wind during the race. When you run up a hill or turn into a gusty wind, your pace should slow down to keep the effort the same. You also need to make sure that you are taking water early and often during the race. Even if the weather is cool or cold, you still need to keep your body hydrated. It is better to take water or carbohydrate drinks in small amounts because your body can handle it better that way.

So train hard, keep your expectations realistic, and run smart during the race and you will find yourself breaking through the wall with 10K to go in the marathon as you pass people who are stopping to walk because they crashed into the wall.

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Lowell Ladd is Director of Coaching for Myicoach.com (www.myicoach.com) and a former college All-American at 10,000m and current marathoner. Lowell is USATF level II certified and his other articles can be read at Myicoach.com.