Debunking Current Marathon Trends

Running a marathon is a huge accomplishment, but it also takes a huge toll on your body. Following the Boston and London marathon, I’ve been seeing a lot of dangerous trends on Instagram. 

Let’s back up to the original story of the marathon. Following the Greek victory against the Persians, messenger Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory. What people often forget is that following his run, Pheidippides dies. 

I know, it's a bit morbid. But my point in sharing this story is that the marathon is HARD. It is extremely taxing on the body. Luckily, we are more advanced than 490 BC and running a marathon is not a death sentence. But, the current trend influencers keep pushing is no rest necessary. We are seeing people return to running just a few days after completing a marathon. We are seeing people run back to back to back marathons in the same season. 

Our bodies are not designed to do this. Recovery is necessary. It is recommended to take a minimum of 1-2 weeks of full recovery following a marathon. And it is generally best practice to really only aim for one marathon per season. Even the majority of pros are only racing 2 all out marathons per year, one per season. 

So my best advice, allow yourself time to rest. You want ups and downs in your training. You can only be at your peak fitness for a short period of time. 

An example rest block post marathon might look something like this: 

• 1 week of complete rest! Sit on the couch, feet up and enjoy many snacks. 

• 1 week of easing back into gentle movement. Walks, a gentle cycle, etc.

• By week 3 you may be itching to get back to running and that’s good. Start with easy mileage and some general light strength training

• Week 4 still keep it gentle, similar to week 3. 

• Week 5 you can begin to ramp back up slowly. 

Rest is personal depending on the person and situation. Hope this helps! 

-Eliana

P.S. If you need help figuring out how to structure your build and recovery for a marathon, schedule a free discovery call here.