Hitting the wall

Question: What does a big and beefy 35-pound freshman weight thrower at Marist College and a marathon runner have in common?

Answer: They both can “hit the wall.”

In the case of our own Sean Ellman, the weight thrower, “hitting the wall” is a good thing. When a marathon runner hits that proverbial wall? Not so good …

Yesterday at practice, Coach Terry Horton and Sean went to the “Gray Gym” to practice the 35-pound event. There was some moderate activity in there … basketball players warming up, stuff like that. Tossing around a double bowling ball while others are milling about is not a great idea. Here’s a great idea, though: Going into a vacant racquetball court to toss it around!

By the time I arrived on the scene, Terry and Sean had gotten to the point where Sean was doing a two-spin turn with success. And yes, he was literally hitting the far wall with the big and bulky implement.

There is a reason we are predominantly a middle- and long-distance program: Practicing events like this takes some creativity in terms of practice space and time. It certainly won’t get any easier once the real semester begins.

But for one day, having one of our athletes “hit the wall” was not a bad thing to see and hear at all.