In Breaking Through the "Runner's Wall", host Harith Iskander explores what happens when runners hit "the wall" during a marathon. This is when they feel like they can’t run any further. As runners exercise, their bodies use up energy from a type of sugar called glycogen. When glycogen runs out, the body starts to make lactic acid to protect the muscles from burning out. The trick to pushing past "the wall" is eating foods with carbohydrates before the race to keep energy levels up. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Got Science?, a science magazine series that explores and explains science in everyday life.
In Breaking Through the "Runner's Wall", host Harith Iskander explores what happens when runners hit "the wall" during a marathon. This is when they feel like they can’t run any further. As runners exercise, their bodies use up energy from a type of sugar called glycogen. When glycogen runs out, the body starts to make lactic acid to protect the muscles from burning out. The trick to pushing past "the wall" is eating foods with carbohydrates before the race to keep energy levels up. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Got Science?, a science magazine series that explores and explains science in everyday life.