Recovering from Marathons

Tips to help you recover from a marathon

November 21st, 2023

Marathon Recovery Tips

So you’ve completed your marathon. Congrats! Approximately 1.1 million runners complete a marathon each year putting you in a category with only 0.01% of the world’s population. What do you do now? Before getting started on your training plan for the next race, here are a few ideas to help you recover.

Immediately Following the Race

Keep walking, and avoid sitting down immediately following the race. Eat food, celebrate, and when you arrive home, take a shower to decrease the swelling in your legs. Cold water is best. The cold has regenerative properties that increases circulation and stimulates a response in the blood vessels that will help your muscles relax and repair.

Sleep

You’ve probably heard that the gold standard for optimal sleep 7-8 hours a night. However, aim for 9-10 hours of sleep during your recovery week. It typically takes 7 days for cellular damage to fully recover after a marathon and the extra sleep will support and accelerate your recovery process. If you’re struggling to hit this number, squeeze in naps during the week. If you’re having trouble sleeping due to soreness or stiffness, try incorporating a bath or shower. Some light stretching or foam rolling before bedtime can decrease some of your tension - see more on that below!

Go for Light Walks

This is a perfect way to get your body moving again! A 15-20-minute walk around the block or through the neighborhood will ease your body back into activity. Consider inviting a friend to join you, walk your dog or listen to a podcast while enjoying the bliss of being outside. If walking isn’t your thing, a short, try an easy recovery ride on a stationary bike.

Things You Enjoy (NOT running)

After running filled so much of your free time while training for your marathon, it’s possible that you’re now stir-crazy since you’re not running as much. Resist the urge to run! Allow yourself to rest so the body can fully recover. Try dedicating your spare time to the other things in life that bring you joy, while still allowing your body to relax.

Stretch and Foam Roll

Here are some ideas to loosen up your running muscles to get the body back in action. When you come across tender spots, hold the foam roller there with pressure for about 30 seconds. This should alleviate discomfort. Specifically, here are tips to help each muscle group:

  1. Quads

    Start laying on your stomach with one quad on a roller just above your knee and slowly work your way up to the top of your thigh. Keep your knee slightly bent. You can work on the inside, middle, and outside portion of the muscle, moving slowly and pausing at any spot that’s tender.

  2. Hamstrings

    Sit on the floor with your legs straight and a foam roller under your thighs. You can do both hamstrings at once but focusing on rolling one at a time can isolate tender spots specific to each leg. Place your hands on the floor on either side of your butt. Lift your butt and walk your hands to roll the entire length of your hamstring. Move slowly and stop at any trigger point.

  3. Glutes 

    Sit with your glute on the foam roller. Like the quads and hamstrings, it is best to focus on one side of your body at a time. You can keep your leg straight out in front of you or cross your ankle over the opposite knee. Slowly roll over your glute, focusing on tender areas.

10 Ways To Recover From a Marathon

Sports medicine experts at Yale Medicine share advice on how to recover and avoid injury after the big race.

  1. Refuel in the immediate aftermath.

  2. Take a break from running.

  3. Wait on the massage.

  4. Don’t just sit on the couch.

  5. Reintroduce running gradually.

  6. Don’t take up something new.

  7. Return to strength training carefully.

  8. Listen to your body.

  9. Remember to sleep.

  10. Accept post-race ‘blues’ and plan ahead.

Your Daily Dose Of Usain⚡️

Usain on the track during a racee

Usain on the ground after a race

Words To Run By 🏃‍♀️🏃🏽‍♂️

If I’m gonna write songs about my exes, they can write songs about me. That’s how it works.

Taylor Swift

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