h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Hobbes!
someone sent me a bunch of Calvin/Hobbes cartoons today, all about snowmen. Calvin showed unusual taste in ice sculptures. Is that why you were so quiet on them?

I read your Entry on The Wall, and wasn't sure how/where to comment, so have replied to another 'commentator' (Ausnahmsweise, wie üblich) about a couple of things and have decided to write directly to you about the others.

I think the entry is good, especially for non- or potential marathon runners, but I have one major problem with the entry: I think there shouldn’t be a separate Entry devoted to ‘The Wall’.
Too much is made of The Wall; the heightened awareness of its existence and its possible dire consequences actually cause it sometimes to happen, because it can be psychological (something not addressed in your Entry) as well as physical, or a mixture. ‘The Wall’ would be better just mentioned in passing, as part of an entry on marathon running generally (which I understand you’re preparing).

A couple of minor points: When ‘The Wall’ is met, it’s not necessarily at about 20 miles, as implied; it can be as early as at 14 miles, (particularly if it’s mainly psychological). And not all runners get ‘over the Wall’ either, as implied; some who hit it never properly recover, so are actually at their worst around 23-24 miles.
The carbo-loading should start a good couple of weeks before training; a bowl of pasta the night before may be good for the psyche (and is sensible food the night before too), but just that won’t make much difference the next day.

To the tips to comfortably get through ‘The Wall’, I would add:
Follow a proper training plan with some hill and interval training, and include 2-3 shorter races, maybe a half-marathon 1-2 weeks beforehand.
Do not drink much on long training runs (how the body copes with a degree of dehydration can be trained too).
Drink well in the couple of hours before the marathon, more than any training plan suggests, just not so much you feel bloated (you might have to stop in the bushes early on, to get rid of any surplus, but will soon make up the time).
In the marathon itself, without being too conservative, don’t start off too fast, almost aim for a negative split, with constant times between each 5-mile point – you’ll be able to increase your speed in the last couple of miles.

Hope I don't sound too critical; I'm trying to be positive. I think the Entry valuable and would like to think it can encourage others to join us

Hi Hobbes,

Forgot to mention that, in the true spirit of hootoo, you could bring something about the ’42 rule’ into your text.

26 miles 385 yards, working forwards ---- 26 +(3 + 8 + 5) = 42
(pretty easy, that!)

42195 metres, working backwards ---- (5 x 9) – 1 + 2 – 4 = 42