Massage and Marathons: Tips week leading up to and recovery following the big day.
Our New Sports Massage Therapist Wendy Hilton uses her GB athletics experience to help you prepare and recover from this marathon
I have lost count of the amount of marathon events and marathoners I have supported in the 22years I have worked in elite sport in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. To this day the hum in the marathon tents still makes me tingle. The presence of nerves mixed with excitement not only radiating off those who are running, but also the crews that are in charge of feeding stations, or the medics, officials, volunteers prepping for the day ahead.
Attending to the athletes, namely Derek Rae, and being on the elite feeding station at the Paralympics in Rio 2016 was incredibly challenging, ensuring you followed the athletes progress, fought for your spot amongst other countries, were clearly seen to offload drinks, rapid problem solving and demonstrating each athlete’s preferred method of encouragement. However, the most memorable for me was for the World Championships in Doha 2019, where the temperatures soared at midnight and the humidity made it intolerable for those who hadn’t acclimatised. As part of the GB medical team we had to intervene, jump the fence and attend to runners who were dropping like flies to ensure they received the right medical attention. It was all hands on deck to cool athletes down who were under severe heat stress.
London Marathon is unusually upon us this weekend in autumn and with this comes moderate condition, a less dense field and reduced public in attendance. But what an achievement to get to this point, congratulations; it has been a long time coming!
Week Of: Whether you are new to marathon distance or an old hand, you might be feeling the itch to carry-on running high miles into your legs. However, this is taper week! There is need to control yourself, keep the legs ticking over, keeping the rhythm, but keep it short! Our British favourite for the top ten this year is Charlotte Purdue and given heavy weeks of any elite marathoner is often between 120-130 miles, for the marathon taper she is set just 44miles leading into race day, for non-elite it will be considerably less.
Most elite marathoners struggle with taper week. They can be obsessive as individuals, as they love running. They do not have the freedom to enjoy the spoils such as the post marathon reward, nor can they fill their weeks with loads of activities to distract them from their nerves. Despite this they sleep, eat, organise their gear, strategise, check the weather forecast repeatedly and mentally prepare for the race.
Wendy works for team GB
The key is to be patient; trust you have fulfilled your training program and it has been designed to get you over the startline with fresh legs. In the lead up to the marathon, if you are used to therapy I would recommend having treatment latest on Friday this will give your body 48hrs to recover and the residual effects such sluggish muscles and nervous system that you may experience immediately afterwards to dissipate. To the elite targeted therapy is applied to our GB athletes up until the morning of the race. However, this is practised, needs based, carefully applied with very skilful clinicians. Those who I have worked with will receive treatment in the build up at a minimum of weekly, but more often twice a week.
For those new to Soft Tissue Therapy, the week leading up to the race I would discourage the use, unless it was gentle and no later than Thursday. I would describe that as a ‘feel good’ massage to encourage the legs to tingle and feel light. To check over your body and ensure it is moving as efficiently as possible.
Marathon Day:
Some prefer to have a recovery massage immediately following the marathon; others yearn for a well deserved pint, a greasy burger or a tub of Ben and Gerry’s. A light 10-15 min massage post marathon will help enable the recovery process to begin, it dampens down the nervous system, it helps stimulate lymphatic flow (our waste removal system) therefore, aiding the body to reduce its inflammatory markers. The elite will have their 15mins of ‘Wendy’ love, this is the only time they can safely say they will not be on the receiving end of my elbow and enjoy my therapy session. But this is an opportunity also to gather themselves and debrief. These sessions shouldn’t last long, your body has gone through the trauma of the race and it will be counter productive to have you on the table for too long. Keep yourself moving, hydrating, eating and warm.
Week(s) After The Marathon:
Usually we would prefer to touch base with our marathoners a day or two afterwards. We will re-right any imbalances, check for any new niggles, to help reduce unhelpful muscle tonicity, and offer loads of blister management. Elites will then be on absolute rest and recuperation for two weeks before the running itch returns and they will start jogging in the third week. For Non-elites I believe the best time to have therapy is the 2nd or 3rd day after the race when the effect of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is at its peak. This can be a mix of targeted therapy and firm recovery.
Other forms of useful recovery after the marathon is moving about in a pool, using the depth of the water compress the legs and aid the lymphatic flow. Or spinning the legs gently on a stationary bike is also useful.
