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It seems insane to me that people can run for as long as 24 hours without stopping. Multi-day races baffle me even more. It doesn’t seem right that a human being has that much stamina. This left me wondering, how long can a person actually run before they have to stop?
The average male or female will feel like they need to stop running between 15 and 22 miles. The common term for this is ‘hitting the wall’, and the exact point that you stop can depend on pace, stamina, and endurance.
Hitting the wall is a common problem that both beginner and elite runners will face every day. Although it may never be possible to avoid hitting the wall and run without stopping indefinitely, there are several tried and tested techniques that might help you handle hitting the wall more smoothly and continue with your race or training.
How To Avoid Hitting The Wall and Run Without Stopping
According to experts, ‘hitting the wall’ is the common term used when endurance athletes such as cyclists and runners come to a point where they feel as if they are immensely tired and can’t go on anymore.
The reason for this is that the glycogen stores in their liver and muscles have completely depleted. Some research states that this usually happens when the body begins to burn over 2000 calories purely from exercise. As glycogen is the main energy source used by most endurance athletes, a lack of it is never a good thing.
Once you hit the wall, you’re likely to experience a number of symptoms, these include:
- Fatigue- Perhaps most common among runners who hit the wall. Whether you find yourself hitting the wall at 15 miles or 50, your body is going to feel extremely heavy and drained.
- Lack of motivation- Only understandable if your feeling drained. Whether you’re in training or racing, this likely is the time that you most feel like quitting.
- Hallucinations- As your body becomes tired, your mind will too. It may become difficult to fully understand your surroundings or get a clear grasp of the current situation.
- Heavy Breathing- As you reach this deep level of exhaustion, you will likely breathe a lot harder than you normally would so that your body can once again gain control.
Several things can contribute to the point in a race that a runner hits the wall. Many of these factors are out of our control. A study showed that a runner’s age, sex, and ability could all contribute to the point and severity that they hit the wall. Furthermore, most of the things you can do to avoid hitting the wall need to be done before you start your run.
Examples of the steps you can take to avoid hitting the wall include:
- Eating plenty of carbs before and during a run so that your glycogen stores are nice and full.
- Sticking to a steady pace and avoiding pushing to hard at any point throughout the race.
- Staying hydrated (and not overdoing it).
- Taking short breaks throughout your runs.
- Building up your distance gradually through time and with plenty of practice.
Although it may never be possible to prevent yourself from hitting the wall completely, it isn’t necessarily something that has to stop you. By staying mindful of all the potential problems associated with hitting the wall, and by keeping an eye on factors like your pace, there is always the possibility that you may be able to push through the wall or at least put it off for a while.
How Does Age Affect How Far I Can Run Without Stopping
Interestingly, hitting the wall appears to be more popular among younger runners who are attempting to run without stopping. Data analysis of the 2017 London Marathon found that age certainly had an impact on people ran. However, when it came to hitting the wall, runners between the ages of 20 – 30 were far more likely to suffer from the issue.
It’s worth mentioning that the number of runners who hit the wall appeared to rise again past the age of 50. Furthermore, as age increased throughout the London Marathon, the finishing time increased. A slower pace is also something that could be contributing to less chance of hitting the wall.
The Mental Impact Of Trying To Run Without Stopping
It’s safe to say that running long distances can become emotional. In fact, one study suggests that emotional status can change multiple times for endurance runners who are undergoing long distances. The same study also found that factors such as emotional intelligence can help build the ability to adapt to our psychological state.
Put simply, trying to keep a positive mindset throughout your longer runs and remaining focused on your emotions could help to prevent some of the more negative emotions that occur when you hit the wall.
Although hitting the wall in running is largely due to a change in the body, it can also have a big impact on the mind too. Quitting is one of the most common results from runners who hit the wall or try to run without stopping. So it’s worth preparing for the way that you will feel emotionally as well as physically during your runs.
What Other Factors Impact How Far i Will Run Wthout Stopping?
The same search analysis found that starting a race at a faster pace than usual can lead to hitting the wall at later stages of a race. By looking at runners who started the race at a faster-than-average pace, and comparing it with the runners who hit the wall, the results found that more than half of men who started running faster than average would go on to hit the wall. The results were similar for the women too.
Can Professional Runners Hit The Wall?
Yes, anyone who is attempting to run without stopping can hit the wall and be forced to stop running. However, with practice and experience, it may become clearer to experienced runners how their bodies function, and they might even be able to mentally prepare for the physical strain of hitting the wall. What’s more, there may even be some steps that can be taken to avoid hitting the wall in the first place.
Many professional athletes even acknowledge that running longer distances is a gamble when it comes to hitting the wall. As World Record Runner Mo Farah told Athletics Weekly:
“In the Marathon, you might hit the wall, you might not!”
How Fast Can The Average Person Run?
The average person can run around 8 miles per hour. It’s important to remember that training, experience and practice can all help build a person’s average speed over time. To give you some perspective, the average person walks around three to four miles per hour.
If you want to improve your running speed, there are a number of training programs to consider.
Examples include:
- Tempo running– Running at a comfortable pace for a short period which is slightly faster than your goal time.
- Hill running– Pick a hill where you can run up at a steady tempo pace, followed by jogging back down.
- Interval training– Run a faster than comfortable pace for a few minutes before bringing your speed back to the jogging pace and repeat.
Conclusion
Depending on your abilities, you may be able to run countless miles without stopping. That being said, hitting the wall can be a difficult physical obstacle to overcome and can leave many runners unable to continue. Whilst the physical pain associated with hitting the wall can be difficult enough, emotional pain can also have a huge impact.
For these reasons, it is crucial to prepare for hitting the wall by arming yourself with mental resilience and the correct nutrition. Remember, it can happen to anyone regardless of experience. Just because you can run 50 miles without stopping today doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be able to do the same tomorrow.
Does Hitting The Wall Affect Cyclists?
Similarly to runners, hitting the wall is a common problem among cyclists as well as any other exercise which demands a large amount of glycogen from your body. Examples could also potentially include tennis and swimming.
