Anything I can say to marathon disappointment?

[Q_est]

Hello, 

 

Ducking in here to ask for some marathon wisdom for my boyfriend... he ran his first marathon today and "hit the wall" around mile 25. Was stumbling around the course, had to be taken off and made lie down by the paramedics. He got back up and walked the rest of the way but about 25 minutes after his target time (which he had been well on course for before that). 

 

Looking at his splits he did two 6-minute miles early on so I think he just didn't pace himself well... but is there anything I can say to help at this stage, or any good resources about pacing, in-race nutrition etc that I can point him to when he's feeling better?

 

Thank you!

[Shukar]

Yeah that's good advice from Rand, I got lucky and found some new friends on the course who got me through it.

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[Q_est]

Thanks guys. At least he knows he's not alone!

[Rostov]

I just think attempting and finishing a marathon at all is a massively, massively impressive feat.  I'm training for a 10k at the moment and might end up going for a half marathon one day, but a full marathon just seems too daunting.  Maybe one day I'll change my mind.  But I wonder what proportion of people can say they've completed a marathon?  It's pretty small, I imagine. 

 

Easy to forget this if you're surrounded by runners where completion and PBs and regular running are the norm, but well worth taking a step back and realising just what an achievement it is to run a marathon.

[msuroo]

I'm training for a 10k at the moment and might end up going for a half marathon one day, but a full marathon just seems too daunting.  Maybe one day I'll change my mind.

I hope you do.

I totally understand where you are coming from, though. When I ran my first 5k, I pictured a 10k in my mind and thought, "Well, it's just that much more again.  I can do that."  And then I ran a 10k and pictured a half in my mind and thought, "Well, it's just that much more again. I can do that."  And then I ran a half and pictured a marathon in my mind and thought, "Well, it's just that much more again. HAHAHAHAHA nope."  But you sign up for a race, you pick a training program, and you put the work in.  And then you do it.  And it was one of the best experiences of my life.

 

Brief sidetrack there.  To the OP, you've gotten lots of good insight.  I can't even run a single 6 minute mile, let alone any as part of a marathon, so I'm not in the same class of running as your BF, but I hit the wall around mile 21.  If running marathons is something he plans to make a habit of, I'd agree with the suggestion of running the next one with a pace group with a slower target time.  Get a strong finish under his belt, and give him the opportunity to tinker with fueling/hydration.  He can always pick it up and the end if he feels good.

 

[Q_est]

Thanks both. It is a big achievement to me (I'm not a runner!) and to lots of people, but I think he's so disappointed with himself he can't feel that at the moment. 

[rjanke7]

One positive you can take from it, is that his training level is already marathon ready.  I would encourage him to take a little time off, regroup, and find another marathon to run.  He's already put in the hard work, which is all the time spent training.  It doesn't have to end here.