How Long Does It Take To Recover From A Marathon?

You’ve crossed the finish line, collected your medal, and maybe even ugly-cried with joy—congrats, marathoner! But before you start planning your next race as you eat your victory pizza, there’s one burning question every runner faces: how long does it take to recover from a marathon? You want to know when you can start training again, but you know you shouldn’t start right away, you can barely walk down stairs without wincing. But how long should you wait? A week? A month? 

In my practice as a physical therapist, I’ve seen a LOT of injuries happen when transitioning from one marathon to the next, especially from your first marathon to your second! Marathon recovery goes beyond just feeling less sore. In this post, we’re going to break down what to do after running a marathon to recover like a pro, and how long you should wait until you start running again. Let’s lace up and get started!

The First Week

Especially for the first few days after a marathon, you’ll want to shut it down. Making sure you eat a combination of carbs and protein has been shown to be more effective than carbs alone, so make sure your plate is a little more balanced with protein, carbs, and fat compared to pre-race. (1, 2) 

It takes about 8 days for all of the physiological signs of stress in your body to get fully “flushed out” so doing things like getting adequate sleep and getting a massage can help facilitate that. (3) If you have access to things like the marc pro/powerdot or normatec boots, now is a good time to break those tools out. Just make sure you’re not using those tools instead of getting adequate sleep! (4)

First Week Exercise: Walking (< 45 min bouts) or Low Intensity, Low Resistance Cycling

The Second Week

Week two is typically where I’ll tell my patients to start getting back into some of their “hygiene exercises” which are exercises that I’ve given them to work on specific deficits that are generally low stress on the body. If you are a yoga person, this is a good time to start some light yoga sessions or an easy Pilates class. Here are some examples of some typical hygiene exercises that I give to my clients regularly:

Remember, these exercises are meant to cause lower overall stress on the body and should focus on specific problem areas, and all of them should be pretty much pain free (aside from some lingering mild muscle soreness).

Second Week Exercise: Hygiene exercises for specific problem areas, yoga/Pilates, low impact and low intensity cardio (walking, elliptical, cycling)

The Third Week

The theme of the third week of recovery is unstructured work. 

This is where I typically encourage my clients to start going back to the gym for some easy lifts just to get their body under some load again. I typically have people drop the intensity way down from where they were pre race. I think of this like doing a systems check where if you start lifting some weights and it doesn’t go well, then you’re probably not ready to run yet.

I typically tell my experienced marathon runners (those who have been training consistently for over two years) that they can start unstructured recovery runs around the end of the third week as long as they are feeling good. Unstructured means there's no pressure to run the entire time and no specific performance goals; however, effort should not exceed 2-3/10. This means you should be able to hold a conversation while running. 

For less experienced runners, especially those who just completed their first marathon, I encourage them to take a full month off. Having an “off-season” is SO important with long distance running to allow your body (especially your bones) to recover. 

It’s sort of like if you’ve been cramming for a test and your brain is so fried that you can’t retain anything, but when you wake up the next morning you remember more than you thought you would. Your bones’ metaphorical brains are fried after a marathon. Go to bed!

How Long Does It Take To Recover From A Marathon?

Running a marathon puts a ton of stress on your body. While the recovery timeline afterwards can vary based on your experience level and injury status, the average person needs at least 3-4 weeks to fully recover. 

At Alterra, we specialize in helping runners resolve any and all of their injuries that limit their running ability or performance. If you're local to Boston's Back Bay area and are recovering after running a marathon, we'd love to help! Book a free discovery call to chat with a therapist today.

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Next on your reading list:

1. Is Running Gait Analysis Worth It?

2. What is Zone 2 Cardio?

3. Physical Therapy Treatment for Runners

Disclaimer: The information in our blog posts is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a healthcare provider before making decisions related to your health. Use our content at your own risk.

Sources

1. Rustad PI, Sailer M, Cumming KT, Jeppesen PB, Kolnes KJ, et al. (2016) Intake of Protein Plus Carbohydrate during the First Two Hours after Exhaustive Cycling Improves Performance the following Day. PLOS ONE 11(4): e0153229. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153229

2. Saunders MJ, Luden ND, DeWitt CR, Gross MC, Dillon Rios A. Protein Supplementation During or Following a Marathon Run Influences Post-Exercise Recovery. Nutrients. 2018; 10(3):333. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10030333

3. Bernat-Adell MD, Collado-Boira EJ, Moles-Julio P, et al. Recovery of Inflammation, Cardiac, and Muscle Damage Biomarkers After Running a Marathon. J Strength Cond Res. 2021;35(3):626-632. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000003167

4. Wiewelhove T, Schneider C, Döweling A, Hanakam F, Rasche C, et al. (2018) Effects of different recovery strategies following a half-marathon on fatigue markers in recreational runners. PLOS ONE 13(11): e0207313. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207313