Dec 5, 2000

Darren was disappointed. He finished his October marathon, but ran well outside the time he wanted and expected.

"My goal was 3:25 to 3:30, based on my recent 1:32 half-marathon," he wrote. "But I ran 3:48.

"I trained harder for this one than I did for the previous marathons, which I finished in 4:05 and 3:54. I was pretty much right on pace until mile 21, when my hamstrings started to knot up on me and I dropped to 10-minute miles."

He ate "plenty of carbs" the week before the race, and "drank Gatorade at every aid station." He wondered if "some weight training would help prevent hitting the wall."

My first response was to congratulate Darren. A runner can take pride in any time improvement, no matter how small.

Second, he was right in expecting a faster time. If he could average just over seven-minute miles for a half-marathon, then eight-minute pace for the marathon was a realistic goal -- if his training and pacing were right.

I don't know how he prepared or paced himself. In general, runners don't hit their potential for one of two reasons:

1. Long runs not long enough. These need to approach marathon length -- in time but at a slower pace, which means covering less than marathon distance. (For instance, run 3:30 but at nine-minute pace for a run of 23 miles.)

2. Starting the race too fast. If a runner expects to average, say, eight-minute miles, there's no profit in starting much faster than that.

Darren's late-race hamstring cramping had little or nothing to do with muscle strength (and the need for weight work). It was a symptom of hitting the wall, usually for one of the reasons named.

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