Why Is the Marathon so Tough

Incredible and Inspirational! God Bless You Athlete’s! May The Lord Walk With You Always!

Fabulous, exhausting and overwhelming run but well done….. what next! ��

Is the whole coughing on any and all food thing some sort of ritual unique to the race?

Looks like a great race. Damn shame it’s £2500! And that’s probably before the cost of flying out there. I mean bloody hell. For that price I could do Badwater, one of the US 200 milers and just about any 100 miler.

I’m 13 but I think I can do it. It seems unrealistic but I am a runner anyway

Clarification: In our discussion of the 2010 race, our video neglected to mention that Alberto Contador was later stripped of the title because he had tested positive for using a performance-enhancing drug.
-Sam

tour de france, you mean the bore de France? Its super boring to watch dudes cycling for 4 hours. However those guys are extraordinary athletes

November seems like a long way off but this video has me primed. Look forward now to Namibia!

So rad! Kudos to everyone involved and to Ryan Lovejoy for putting together an amazing film! See you in the Desert!

It’s been a while since I was in the desert. Looking forward to this film and running in the next Desert Ultra!

Stewart household Friday takeaway will be replaced with Firepot Orzo Bolognese! MRS Stewart tells me I’m not allowed to watch it, as it will only make me want that hat trick.

The saddest thing about this, is that he still didnt finished Barkley.

Is there an advantage of eating burgers and yogurt before a run, or am I missing something? That combination doesn’t seem like it would settle in the stomach too well. I would have carbed up.

This dude has one of the best support team of all the competition. He did not miss it by 6 sec but a whole 2 miles cause he went the wrong direction

You got to the cup. You just didnt win it. I’m still proud of the effort. And of you and yours… good job ginger minge. I’m rooting for you.������

Looks like a great experience. Would love to try. The whole cigarette thing just takes something away from it. I think if I ran up there to turn in my pages and smelled that shit I would hurl. Cant imagine anything more repulsive than smelling cigarettes after a run.

I have watched every video about the Barkley marathons and this is a superb production. The video was supposed to be much shorter except for the eccentric behaviour of the central character. It’s not difficult to see why he failed twice, once miserably and once in grotesquely childish fashion. The Barkley Marathons event is meant for people who are not at all sure of their limitations, whereas Gary Robbins, who has been blessed with great physical attributes, believes that what it takes to complete the race is preparation. He will never complete the Barkley and the reason I know is because he has never entered the Big backyard ultra. He has no backbone.

I watched this and it made me hit up my friends and plan to go on a hike

I ran my first this year in June. When I ran (stumbled) over the finish line and met my mom and two friends, I started laughing uncontrollably. Then came the tears… �� They gushed down my cheeks. Then I started laughing again… So. Much. Emotion!

31:00 That must be quite the feeling:-) To be able to complete such a challenge and also be the only one who is able to finish it:-)

With the added distance from getting lost & being only 6 seconds over; that’s a Finish. Maybe not officially, but a Finish nevertheless. Sorta kinda like when a fighter definitively beats another fighter but loses due to a crappy decision by the judges…

Let’s see someone do this without coffee or stims? Has someone done it?

As a man we suck at time frames so I believe her when she said it took him 24hrs to decide to go again. Believe the wife

I have done a little bit of extreme marathon swimming (and am not able to run due to disability) but I loved this documentary. Your wife and your support crew has my utmost respect as that must be gutting watching a loved one push himself to the limit. Just shows how slender the gap is between success and having to return to achieve success. Hats off to all of you.

Man i love this stuff. Great film, thank you for making it:)

That kid running in just a t shirt and shorts in the bitter cold night!

Marathon racing, as opposed to marathon running, requires a certain body type to compete. If you have the physical traits necessary and the will to endure the pain of doing it you deserve the accolades you will recieve when you win. Those who lacks the inherent physical requirements to finish the course in the alloted time are simply not given a chance to compete and that makes this a course that discriminates against against all but the most physically capable from competing. This is unfair in a very broad sense and contributes to an elitist conception of the limits of human physical accomplishment. Paraplegics must be given an opportunity to compete. Someone should sue the hell out of the promoters and sponsors of this outrageously discriminatory event.

Man respect, I’ve run a viking run for about 7 km after not running for 10 + years, and i truely felt alive again. I hope to one day come close to a pinch of what you achieved here.
But for now i’ll stick to my 50 km bike rides daily:D Running is so much harder i’ll take it slowly.

next time add half maple syrup half water with added salt and mollases.

Man the determination of this man and the support of his wife are crazy

This is a pretty good chronicle of obsession and functional mental illness.

The reward in an endeavor like this is the process, confronting an impossible task, doing your best and finding out in just what regard the capricious gods hold you. Gary completed the course in 60:00:06, behind the only other competitor out of 40 to finish the course. Somehow, his mind processes this as a failure. How Western.

So… It looks like he’s going to devote a third year to obeying the instructions issued by his mental illness, adding to the total of irredeemable years he has not spent with his wife, or spent with his son, sculpting the character of the man his son is to become. My 30 year old son is a brilliant, accomplished educator in San Francisco, universally admired for his work. However, he is also the most contented, happy, self-confident and universally liked young man I’ve ever met. The reason, I believe — no, I KNOW — is that I, a physician working 70 hours per week, and my wife made it our top priority to spend an unbelievable amount of time with him, from birth to age 18. I read to him every night, we played innumerable games of our and his invention, many of them utterly silly, I taught him skiing soccer, basketball, chess, tennis and cycling, but now he’s a devoted rock climber. At least he stoped caving. I imparted my love of music to him — from Hanni El Khatib to Peter Tosh to Handel. We went backpacking and trout fishing whenever possible, and did martial arts (he got his black belt at 14) together.

Gary can spend another year obsessed with reclaiming that 6 seconds, but I doubt he, or his wife or his son will be any happier for it.

His wife is as inspiring as him. Everything a spouse should be.

I saw the title of the video and thought, “Oh someone’s made a documentary about the place I work at.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that who ever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life for God did not send his son into the world to condemn it but that the world through him can be saved.
We must be willing to turn from sin to receive Jesus forgiveness, and to know and live out his teachings. He who does the will of God abides for eternity. NKJV ������

“I haven’t slept for 96 hours I couldn’t recognise anything am I making sense right now” says man behind wheel of vehicle

It made me really sad to google finishers of Barkley Marathons and see that Gary still haven’t finished:(

Who else is watching this when they can barely run 5 miles nonstop.

for me it is mental. I can easily hit 5k, 3k goal paces on tired legs if I’m with a running group at the track. Motivating myself to run MP when on a long run on my own is another matter.

Easy pace is conversational breathing. How should the breathing feel like at marathon pace? I am able to meet all my training targets but my marathon pace still feels hard and the breathing is certainly not calm. Can talk in short sentences only. Marathon in 10 days:(

phidippides ran 150 miles to sparta then 150 miles back then fought in the battle then ran 26 miles to athens that’s why he died

If he has pain in the legs it might be because he has a wrong running technique. He has to land on his forefoot and not on his heel.. If he is reading it TRY IT because it makes you run faster + can cure back pain, leg pain, knee pain, literally everything + every elite runner uses this technique too.

when he took that shortcut that shit urked me dude never completed the marathon! why would you do that? good effert in all though just whyyyyy

My brother did the track meet. He got a trophy in middle school.

its all in the long, long easy miles. Easy running is your friend when it comes to these distances.

I prepped for the half marathon and changed it to full on race day. Bad move! I was feeling pretty good until around mile 21. My left hip started giving out then. I finished in 3:45 but it took me an hour to finish the last 5 miles. After that I couldn’t run for 2 years!

You actually lost 30 lbs!!! Wow. Do you still run nowadays? Great video.

I cant run 100m. If I put every ounce of energy I have into it i can do 200m and be exhausted. In the summer I biked with a bag on my back about 1km every day. I never got any better, always hurt, been exhausted (flop onto sofa and did nothing for 15 mins). Wtf is wrog with me?

I wish I saw this video before running a marathon, the bandages on the nipples are important. I had bleeding nipples afterwards

hey,if anyone else trying to find out best marathon plan try Sarparder Running Expert Starter (Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now )? Ive heard some pretty good things about it and my mate got amazing results with it.

Great video, good job! I’ve done forty now… I’m 60. My best had long runs on the weekends of up to 24 miles. If you care about speed, add it in the last 1/3 or 1/4 of your training. (Track). Speed work was the only way I became faster. Knees: if you can, ppl do run on the grass median during parts as long as you don’t cut tangent length and it’s clear to participants you are RIGHT THERE with them. Hits the mats, we all know that. Awesome. Congrats.

Btw many marathons have elevation gains and losses, so this was a very easy course.

Jajajjajajajaja “maybe I won’t be able to walk in 5 days”. Made me laugh so hard that part. Sorry ��

IT TAKES ME 37 MINUTES TO “RUN” 3 MILES. WTF? I feel lazy now

What’s most amazing about this is that if he alternated running and walking each mile he would’ve finished so much faster and with more energy.

Your defination of insanity is actually a quote by Einstien.

old video, but as someone who is getting into competitive marathons, his is inpirational, great job man, you really did a great job and are just overal an amazing person

Has anyone that knows even a tiny bit about cycling ever asked the title question? Isn’t it kind of obvious?

Hell yeah! I started running 4 months ago. Started off 1km every 2nd day (3km a week). 10km a week then 25, then 40km. I’m now running 10km a day. I can’t function without it. Makes me feel goood!

If I could finish a marathon in 5:24, I’d buy everyone I know a steak and lobster dinner. My dream is to finish one in 6 hours and I’ve done over 40 races being in the back of the pack with multiple sub 3 halves. As the kids say now a days, you are “lit.” Congrats

Thank you for posting this incredible journey. I’m two weeks out from my first and this really helped me. I hope your knees have since learned to behave and that you can run more easily now!

2018… just watched this video.. and I will totally run a marathon in the future ����

Yeah, sure, walk it after the half marathon mark and then say “I ran a marathon”. No sweetie, you power walked it, that’s different.

Classic beginners mistake, starting out too fast. Start slowly and then pick up pace as you get into a rhythm. Also, I notice your cadence is kind of slow. Try a faster cadence ie. 170 to 180 steps per minute. This lowers the impact and your legs are going to hurt less.

Pheidipides ran about 25 miles from Marathon to Athens, then he died. In 1908, the London Olympics, distance laid out 1.2miles to the White City Stadium, where the Queen would be able to see the finishers. “God save the Queen” Until 1908 the distance of the marathon was 25miles.

Now let’s just watch eliud kipchoge do that at 4:35 pace. Insane. Great job though

I guess they’ve gotta run at night in NV because it would be just too hot during the daytime.

They should get a rest day after every stage so they ALL stop doping.

Animal still beat human in marathon, they would run fast and rest, run again and rest

You could use those 11 months much better if you had training program

1:50 You said 3 miles in only 27 minutes?!?! WTF I’ve been running for 2 years and I need 28 minutes for 2,4 miles! How the fuck?! Someone explain me please. I’m 16 years old, I’m a boy and I’m5′ 7 and i weight 99lbs i know I’m skinny but I eat 2500 calories so no worries. My nutrition is good and I even take supplements to increase stamina and strength. How the fuck does he run so fast or am I just slow?

Bullshit obviously he trains no one can run 26miles without training

I’m active army and ran a marathon without training as a no balls moment. Not fun. Wish I had trained.

The science of running a marathon but without the science part.

I’m here to say this is fake. Many avid runners can’t even run a marathon without stopping. Let alone this guy.

Why did he do laps? Running down a road would be more fun for him.

you made almost 43 klm in 3:39:53 in your first attempt??woooww..!

Props mate. You’re lucky to have an amazing wife who supports your endeavours.

People have been asking for the times and I know i’m late but it’s over 7 hours, my first ever marathon was just a little faster than that pace and I got sub 6 which is very slow.

The actual distance from Marathon to Athens is closer to 25 miles. The marathon distance was lengthened to 26.2 miles in the 1908 London Olympics so the Queen and spectators could witness the finish inside a stadium.

There’s a difference between thinking someone can’t do something. And that their all talk.

I’m someone who tends to be all talk.

It’s so flat dude try NYC Marathon. Bridges and the 5th Ave hill that’s the real deal.

Uhhh You lost me at pheidippides ran 26.2 miles. Marathon 101 pheidippides is actually a Greek name for a messenger not a person’s actual name. The only two sources for this tale wrote more than a century after the battle of marathon. If there even was a pheidippides, estimates are the distance was closer to less than 25 modern miles. The 26.2 mile distance was set at the 2012 London Olympics so the Queen could see the finish. There is so much wrong with this vid its hard to believe. OK to be smart??? Do your research.

I’ve started running and noticed that strength training is soooo important when first getting going. I don’t run fast but I’m definitely doing this marathon. Thanks for the motivation of this video.

And I’m proud of myself for making a 2 mile bike trip around my neighborhood

Yeah, this is not real. He’s running in a sweatshirt and flip flops, and you can tell he doesn’t have low BF%. Plus it’s just not possible for someone to do a marathon without training.

As a runner, I call this BS and I don’t recommend anyone to attempt it without training. I have doubts he can even finish a half-marathon without a minimim of training. The youtube is full of crap… whatever it takes to make some views. Don’t try this at home, you risk injuries or other health problems. Take it slow.

51C = 123.8 Degrees.. jeeze, that’s really pressing what is rational for a race, it would be very easy to have a heat stroke running in that kind of weather, good job though!

Watching this video felt like running a marathon. I hit the wall at 3:30 and loaded up Pornhub.

Something very fake about that, surely on a hot day how could he have done it all in a hoodie

Uh
I can barely run a mile before I feel sick and can’t move
I’m also blind when that happened
How long is a marathon?

Fucking hell. Good effort man!

Took me two years of running before I even had the confidence to tackle a marathon.
Well done!

I watch this video every time I decide to run my next marathon so here I am again =)

Yeah at 25.6 you’re not going to finish. Riiiiiiiiiiight. Enough drama kids. You did it. fuck up

his coworkers judge him but have they run a marathon? his pace is slow but it is still running! as a current xc/tf athlete, i can tell you he is definitely running and doing amazing for not having trained for it.

XD Joints are not shock absorbers, that’s what your feet are for.

You did good timing �� an avg of 8:45 min pace? I’m jealous

I’m pretty sure the 26.2 miles was standardized later and we don’t actually know the exact distance that was run in the original Marathon field.

runners cannot tap on their fat reserves? Well to be fair there is i think not much fat to burn in their body anyway.

Because that is how our body works, we tap to our fats once carbs are gone, fats could be converted to glycogen, does “carb loading” exist during our ancestor hunter gatherer time?

There is no historical account of Pheidippides dying after his run. That’s a story that developed later. If we’re doing science, we should get our historical facts straight.

In fact, there isn’t even a historical account of the man running from the battle to Athens. The only account of Pheidippides run is to Sparta from Athens, a much farther, staged, journey of 280 miles. And no death from exhaustion there either.

Any message from the battle site at Marathon to Athens was likely sent by horseback since there was a good road there. Runners were used for paths difficult to navigate on horseback.

So, perpetuating this myth continues to encourage people to think these are near insurmountable distances. They aren’t. Any well-trained individual can accomplish this feat and many run much farther. It is difficult but it will not kill you unless you are in very poor health or have extenuating circumstances. A Greek messenger, accustomed to running, would have had no problem running this distance.

Marathons are EASY. i have run 64 of them since 2005. I love to race

“We have tall, thin bodies…”
What about the psychotic “fat pride” movement?��

through college, I was a compact version of cousins that were college football linesmen so while I had decent endurance, I was extremely strong

If you are going to use the outdated imperial system at least include the metric system

I’m training for a 100mile ultra marathon. I have to one up my sister her head getting to big lol. Hopefully after years of drug abuse and smoking I can do it. I’m off to a better start then I thought.

You are portraying glycolysis as the major source of ATP for the cell at walking or stand-still pace; that is false.

Gluteus maximus sounds like a Monty Python’s centurion name, a friend of Biggus Dickus

this was so dissapointing, expected tour de france to be full circle around france

Something you didn’t mention is that us humans have different muscles. We’re split into two categories. Tall and thin, and short and bulky.

Those that are tall and thin have more of (either a or x protein, I forget. I think it’s x) X, which is a long-lasting muscle.

Those that are short and bulky have more of the A, a spontaneous, powerful muscle, built to provide power in an instant.

You can train to convert X muscles into A, and the opposite, but you’ll never be as good of a Marathon runner as someone who’s in the X-leniant group. Vice versa.

TL;DR: Some people are born with more X muscle, which trades spontaneous power (A muscle) for long-lasting power. They are tall and thin, instead of short and bulky. You can train to become either one, but never as good as them.

err it wasn’t 26.2 miles, the marathon was extend for the Olympics in London

By the way, once I tried to run a marathon without drinking and eating. It was hard and I stopped the process during the thirty eighth kilometer, but man, I am pretty musclular. My weight was 85 kg, with height 184 cm. It was musscles, I had very low percetage of fat. And still I made without water and food 38 kilometers. So, I think, good marathoners, with lower weight, can do the running without pretty easily. I mean, human body contains enough energy to run the distance. If it’s trained, of course.

I found that following a healthy Keto based eating plan along with IF has improved my running performance. I no longer depend on glucose/carbs to fuel my runs. I’ve changed my fuel source from carbohydrates to fat. Carbs/sugars burn up quickly…fat is a slow burn and lasts much longer since we all have 1000’s of calories of stored fat to burn. We don’t need carbs….we really don’t. Most don’t have the discipline to employ this practice. Something for every runner/athlete to look into. Dr Berg, Dr Sten Eckberg and and Dr Jason Fung share life changing information.

Wow that’s amazing your coworkers suck way to go dude you’re an absolute legend. Get away from those negative vibes. Surround yourself by people who bossy you and believe in you. All love

The distance between the two towns is 26 miles. King George added the extra.2 so that the Olympic marathon would start at a specific castle. In the Athens 2004 Olympics they had to add that to the original route.

cool. next time i will also use “big gluteus maximus” instead of “ass” in my every day conversation

Marathon is now considered the shorter option for long races. Welcome to the age of Ultra Marothons from 50k to 100+ mile races.

honestly what a horrible group of friends. he cant do it, he will never do it, he looks bad, hes barely moving, hes going to give up. seriously

2:57
1) He said 8x his bodyweight? So he weighs 175? Wow I thought he’d be lighter lol

2) That is a false mathematic equation, 8X BODYWEIGHT???? Usain Bolt hit 5.75x Bodyweight in the 100m Final in Berlin FOR ONLY LIKE 2 SECONDS = 27.9 MPH! Usain Bolt delivered 1,190 lbs totals

3) If he delivered 1,400 lbs that would mean for 26.2 MILES he was going 17.241 m/s (38.79 mph or 62 km/h) so his Marathon time would’ve been 40-41 minutes. Yeah no dude ��. You were probably exerting less than 400 lbs of force tbh which is more likely

Note: I love this video, I’m not trying to hate I was just blown by the 1400 lbs

fun fact: prehistorical humans (i think all species) ran the speed of olympic sprinters on sand, on bare feet, in (probably) hot weather. That’s it.

What a timely video. My program is ramping up the marathon pace segments of the long runs and I had the same thoughts/doubts about the sustainability of that pace. After watching this video, I can’t wait for Sunday and my next crack at MP
Thanks James

So awesome and inspiring. Can’t wait to get some more ultras under my belt!

Flys across ocean
Plane crashes
Shark attack
Nearly dies

Perfectly swimable

Why most people have not heard of Mega Avalanching?
It’s very popular in France, or France territorial countries (La Reunion Island, etc.)

But remember kids, these guys were all on steroids so don’t go on thinking you’re gonna do 11 mins of 400Watts just like that.

Hmm…. As an astronaut I went to the moon on a rocket before therefore perfectly passable on a mountain

But why dont the top dogs help the underdogs by taking a turn drafting for them

Cyclists are the worst community and cycling is not exciting to watch at all. Come at me cyclists

very interesting info! and that beat at 0:55 pretty fire ��������

Tour De Drugs It is whoever has the best designer drug manufacturer. This sport is still so heavily dependent on doping. To say riders are clean, would be a lie.

Should change the video name to this is why your de France bikers need performance enhancing drugs

Thank god there are no jojo fans saying “so this is basically sbr but with bikes and in france”

Oh wait

Whomever made this intro knew nothing of cycling, what a shame.

im typing this comment using the steam link app from my phone to my cumputer

Entire marathon ruined but tiny cheat at the turn around.my OCD is firing on all cylinders…

Wow! I mean really. Just… wow! What an event. What a film. That’s truly incredible. I’m in training for the For Rangers Ultra but it suddenly feels like a Sunday afternoon stroll by comparison. Huge kudos to the competitors and organisers.

Alright cycling is the only sport I respect more than track, and track is legit my livelihood I practice everyday for the opportunity to be great

Fun fact: in 1941 the german won the most brutal tour de france in history

(I’ve been watching Vox video after Vox video and I’m not mad about it at all)

87% of the top 10 finishers over a 20 year period were confirmed to have used doping!!!

What if they invented a bike that would get energy from them biking and gave it to the bikers who did this

I just wanted to know why it was hard instead I got a history and science lesson

As the man that casually explained once said “It’s only you and your bike, and an entire team with teammates ready to hard carry you to the finish line”

People who don’t follow cycling often ask me why, in clips of the TDF, the riders “aren’t trying to pass.” This video offers a good explanation of why: road cycling isn’t about going all-out all the time, but rather about picking your battles and saving your energy for the crucial moments. This is why teams are so important. And it’s also why a road race unfolds so differently from a mountain bike or cyclo-cross race. In those subdisciplines, the speeds are much lower, and wind resistance is less important. So they unfold more like a running race in which the competitors gradually drift apart based on strength.

Chooses picture of cyclists containing Chris froome most successful this statement decade but doesn’t mention him in the best in the world

It is not correct to say that the best riders stay at the back. If they do that it’s a sign that something is wrong. The best riders stay at the back of the front 1/3 part or in the front part of the middle of the peloton.