Question

Despite a vigorous training schedule and careful meal planning, Anthony “hit the wall” at mile 12 of his half-marathon and he had to walk the last mile. To what can his inability to finish the race most likely be attributed?

Answer 1

Condition of fatigue caused by depletion of glycogen

Step-by-step explanation:

Let us examine how a body produces energy. There are two ways:

Fat metabolism

Fatty acids in the body help to capture adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which produces energy. On a per gram basis fatty acids yields the most ATP when oxidized completely.

Glycogen breakdown

the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase cleaves glycogen from the non reducing ends to produce monomers of glucose-1-phosphate. These monomers are used by the human body to supply energy.

When a person is exercising his/her VO₂ i.e., the oxygen consumption reaches maximum, here most of the energy comes from glycogen. While exercising most of the energy comes from glycogen breakdown.

So, when Anthony hit the wall it means that he has depleted his source of glycogen and can no longer produce glucose which provides him energy.