Essential Tips To Speed Up Your Marathon Recovery

After completion of the race your body and mind have very specific needs and full marathon recovery may take up to two or three weeks.

Completing a marathon is a great personal accomplishment and you should be elated about doing so, but on the other hand it is actually quite normal for to feel very low.  Whatever your state of mind, it’s essential to take care of a few basics prior to relaxing and celebrating: -

• If you have any serious injuries or particularly bad foot or muscle pain get them checked out by the medical staff at the finishing line. 

• Apply some pain relieving gel to any aching muscles. 

• Don’t lie down straight after the race as this will lead to a number of problems such as cramp or blood pooling, amongst other things. 

• Replenish your water levels immediately afterwards, drink anything up to 2 litres of water, sports drink or fruit juices etc. 

• Take your time to stretch thoroughly within 20 – 30 minutes of finishing the race and many times afterwards and over the next few hours. 

• Alcohol is not a good drink to have after a marathon as it is a diuretic and this will flush water out of your body, leading to further dehydration, at least not until much later in the day and after you have also had a couple of meals. 

• If you get the chance to soak your legs in cool water soon after finishing, you will find this very relaxing and therapeutic, then later on in the day, have a warm bath to further ease and comfort your aching muscles. 

• If possible try to eat a well balanced meal 2 – 3 hours after the race, this will help to increase your blood sugar levels and improve your mood. 

For a full explanation and further reading about your marathon recovery as well as how to train for a marathon - ‘Marathon Training For Beginners’ is a great read, it is an entertaining and easy to use marathon training schedule for anyone who wants to learn how to successfully run a marathon in the shortest possible time. Click here for more details.

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