MY thoughts >

[goodie]

I was a fairly decent cross country , road runner. I never had the speed for track.
Due to injuries from running I have now taken up cycling and erging.
its an observation of mine that cyclists and rowers push themselves to the point of total collapse in races and tests.
Never ever seen that in running. it happens but it seems to be normal in cycling and especialy rowing.[youtube][/youtube]

[Gammmmo]

You do see people in athletics immediately stooping or lying down after coming over the finish line. That said, I have found it harder to "go to the well" with erging as cycling. I think it's a different kind of effort because it involves more muscluature. and the aerobic exhaustion with cycling/running is therefore more demonstrative. Not saying the aerobic exhaustion isn't there with erging but it's because of the increased muscle fatigue as well that it seems less obvious to me.

[Dangerscouse]

I suspect that I am also more able to push to slightly higher thresholds on the bike than the erg but it does seem less common in runners. As I'm more or less allergic to running I can't comment properly

[iant187]

..it involves more muscluature....

Yep I think this is it for me...
Rowing apparently uses 80% of overall muscluature so by time you've "binned" yourself on the erg you have an overall exhaustion..
Not sure why cycling is similar though...

[hjs]

I was a fairly decent cross country , road runner. I never had the speed for track.
Due to injuries from running I have now taken up cycling and erging.
its an observation of mine that cyclists and rowers push themselves to the point of total collapse in races and tests.
Never ever seen that in running. it happens but it seems to be normal in cycling and especialy rowing.[youtube][/youtube]

Ever ran a 400m? Thats also killing. But indeed rowing is a sport in which you can dig very deep, although certainly not everybody can and super fit aerobic types look fresh at the finish. Wr lightweight Johansson for example. Row like mad, pulls sub 6 but hardly breathes..

[Remo]

What my colleagues above have said is both interesting and true. That said, let me give you another reason supporting your conjecture.

In erging, you stare at that monitor. It inescapably informs you exactly how you are doing. You are always in a race with yourself. It is this constant pacing that allows you to maximize your energy production and push you to near collapse.

[Gammmmo]

One thing I will add with this is I think some (I do) suffer on the erg because it encourages a linear or constant effort (exception: things like the 2K French protocol). With cycling and running outside I found the external stimulus of trying to catch other competitors or raise the effort periodically by fixing my focus on landmarks worked very well for drawing me out.

[Cyclingman1]

its an observation of mine that cyclists and rowers push themselves to the point of total collapse in races and tests.
Never ever seen that in running.

So many variables. One has to consider time, distance, fitness, weight, energy stores, and dehydration, to name only a few. Also, one thing about running is that one has to support one's body weight while propelling one's self down the road. Takes a lot of energy. In all these endeavors, when fatigue sets in, one has to slow down, especially in running, but total exhaustion is certainly possible. One cannot dismiss fitness. The fitter one is, the deeper one can go to the point of total exhaustion. The unfit may feel exhausted, but are not really there. For me, cycling has probably taken me closer to total exhaustion than anything. One can turn the cranks with very little left in the tank. When the pedals won't turn, you are exhausted. But that usually takes hours. Don't think this answers the question all that well. JimG

[Dangerscouse]

One thing I will add with this is I think some (I do) suffer on the erg because it encourages a linear or constant effort (exception: things like the 2K French protocol). With cycling and running outside I found the external stimulus of trying to catch other competitors or raise the effort periodically by fixing my focus on landmarks worked very well for drawing me out.

For me, an all out effort on the erg does have mini peaks, some more noticeable than others, but they are there albeit the linear effort is probably the most predominant. It's usually a result of an internal dialogue of whether or not I'm able to dig deeper and shutting out the pain.