I Finished a Race, Now What? A Physiotherapist’s Guide

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So, you just finished a race, congrats!

Whether it was a 5k or a marathon, you should be proud of your accomplishment.

You may be asking yourself: “Where do I go from here?”. That’s a totally valid question and one that I can relate to.

The best way to have a successful post-run strategy is to be prepared. What you do in the hours and days following the race can have a significant impact on your recovery.

As a physiotherapist, I’ve seen how a good post-race recovery strategy can set the stage for the next steps of your fitness journey.

The goal of this article is to give you a comprehensive guide on what to do after running a race. Let’s dive in!

1. Cool Down Properly

After you cross the finish line, take some time to enjoy the moment and be grateful for what your body just allowed you to accomplish. Try to resist the urge to stop moving completely and collapse to the ground, if possible.  

Spend a few minutes walking around and taking in some deep breaths. Not staying still will help prevent blood from pooling in your legs. A proper cool-down will also bring your heart rate back down and help your body transition back to your normal resting state.

If you feel like stretching or doing some mobility work, that’s up to you. However, know that you don’t have to do this right away after the race. You can wait until you get home later that day. We’ll be discussing lower down in this article.

Read this article if you’re interested in finding out more about why cool-downs are important.

2. Rehydrate and Refuel

After a race, your body can be depleted of fluids and electrolytes. Within the first 30 minutes after the race, it’s important to start rehydrating with water and an electrolyte-rich drink. They will often provide these options after crossing the finish line. Listen to your body and keep rehydrating as needed in the next hours and days.

A good indication of being properly hydrated is the color of your urine. Light yellow usually means that you are well-hydrated.

Below is a graphic showing the hydration levels based on the color of urine which can be a useful reference for runners.

Figure 1- 8-color scale urine hydration chart. Adapted from "Development of Urine Hydration System Based on Urine Color and Support Vector Machine" by Gunawan et al., 2018, Procedia Computer Science, 135, p. 483.

Your glycogen levels will also likely be depleted after a race. Glycogen serves as a source of energy in the body and is the stored form of glucose (sugar) in your liver and skeletal muscles.  Eating or drinking a snack that includes carbohydrates and protein is ideal to replenish glycogen.

In their study on training recommendations, Racinais et al. (2015) recommended a ratio of 4:1 of carbs-to-protein. They reported that having 0.8 grams of carbs per kg of body weight per hour of training and 0.2–0.4 grams of protein per kg of body weight per hour of training will help replenish glycogen stores. This should ideally be consumed within an hour of finishing your physical activity.

Some great options after a race include having chocolate milk or a protein bar which contains carbs and protein as well as being easy to carry

3. Roll it Out

Your muscles will most likely be sore after a race. But will foam rolling actually help with sore muscles?

Research shows that foam rolling can help reduce muscle soreness following intense exercise. For example, Pearcy et al. (2015) observed a significant decrease in muscle tenderness after strenuous activity, which is great news!

It's important, however, to understand how to use a foam roller effectively to maximize its benefits for muscle recovery.

How long should you foam roll?

Currently, the recommended duration for foam rolling varies. Some studies highlight the advantages of using foam rollers for up to 20 minutes. 20 minutes!!!

However, research by Sullivan et al. (2013) and Halperin et al. (2014) suggests that even brief sessions of 10 to 30 seconds per muscle group can be beneficial. This seems much more manageable — after all, who has that much time?!

These are my physiotherapist recommendations when it comes to foam rolling:

• Foam roll for 20-30 seconds per muscle group and repeat for 3 sets.

• Apply a tolerable amount of pressure which could be qualified as a good pain. Aiming for 3 out of 10 on a pain scale (10 being the worst pain ever felt) is a good indicator.

• Begin with quick, light movements to desensitize the area, then slow down and target tighter spots as you become more comfortable.
  

To learn more about mobility tools such as foam rollers, read this article.

4. Light Physical Activity

After a race, it’s important to take some time off running. There are actual physiological changes that happen within your body when it comes to inflammation and muscle damage. We will discuss this in more detail in point #7 which is the return-to-running phase.

That being said, it doesn’t mean you should sit on the couch for the next week after a race. You can still engage in some light physical activity. Gentle movements, like walking, easy cycling, or leisurely swimming could be beneficial to keep your body active without additional stress.

You can also do some light stretching or Yoga if you find that beneficial.

Beyond just the physical effects, Yoga has been found to help reduce fatigue and pain levels as well as improve the quality of sleep (Ross & Thomas, 2010).  This sounds like it ticks all the boxes of what one may need after a race!

As for stretching, if you find it feels good, go ahead and stretch. However, we know from research that stretching doesn’t help to prevent injury risk for long-distance runners. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t help to reduce muscle soreness that can happen after runs (Baxter et al., 2017).

5. Prioritize Sleep

Sleep is one of the most effective ways to promote recovery in our bodies and it doesn’t cost anything! Getting between 7-9 hours of sleep per night is recommended for athletes (Bird et al., 2017).

After a race, you will likely need more sleep which will allow your body to heal and recover. This is when listening to your body is important. Everyone will be different, but it has been shown that extended periods of sleep up to 10 hours have beneficial effects on athletes (Bonnar et al., 2018).  

6. Reflect and Plan Ahead

Instead of jumping on your computer to sign up for your next race, take some time to enjoy the moment.

First, celebrate your accomplishments, however big or small. Maybe you got a personal best or finished your first marathon. Maybe this was your first race after an injury or, maybe you’re just happy you finished it. The point is that you got out of bed in the morning, put yourself outside of your comfort zone, and did the best you could.

Find a way to celebrate that is meaningful to you. For me, I like to spend time with loved ones who come to encourage me after a race and go out for brunch and a celebratory Mimosa (or two).

Next, when you have had time to rest a little and have some downtime, reflect on your race experience.

Some questions to ask yourself:

• What went well? What could I improve next time?

• How was my nutrition and hydration strategy?

• Was my pacing strategy effective? Did I start too slow or too fast, or did I get it right?

• How did the course and weather affect my performance?

• How does it compare to my previous race (if applicable)?

• What did I learn from this race?

• What do I want to work towards next?
  

It can be helpful to answer these questions by writing in a journal or using the notes app on your phone so you can come back to them later.

These questions can help you figure out if you need to adjust your training plan, refine your fueling and hydration strategy, or work on some mental strategies. Set new goals and make a plan to achieve them, incorporating what you’ve learned from this race.

7. Return to Running Gradually

The million-dollar question: How long should you rest after a race?

Some interesting studies have been conducted on marathon runners to determine how long recovery should be after a race.

A study by Bernat-Adell et al. (2021) published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research did just that. The study aimed to see how a marathon affects certain body markers and how they return to normal afterward. They looked at inflammation as well as cardiac and muscle damage biomarkers.

They found that these biomarkers didn’t normalize for at least 4 to 8 days, depending on which biomarker they looked at.

Here are the main recommendations from this study:

• It’s recommended to avoid doing training sessions with an increased chance of muscle damage such as running or strength training for at least 4 days after a marathon. This is because the CK (creatine kinase) biomarker remains elevated in the next few days following a race. This biomarker is responsible for skeletal tissue damage.

• In slow runners, it was found that the CRP (C-reactive protein) biomarker remained more elevated after a race and for at least 8 days. This biomarker is an indication of inflammation in the body.

• In faster runners, the skeletal tissue damage and the cardiac stress were higher after a race and this should be considered when beginning to run again.
  

This is data that we have for marathoners. To be on the safe side and allow the body to recover, it’s best to rest from running or strength training for 7-10 days after the race.

As for the other distances, there’s no clear data, but we can use our judgment. For a half-marathon race, the recovery period might be more in the range of 5-7 days, whereas a 10 km might be more in the range of 3-5 days.

Either way, always listen to your body and don’t try to rush the process. Taking a bit of time off from running and enjoying other activities can be a positive experience for the body and mind.

Incorporating light cross-training activities like yoga, swimming, or cycling can help maintain your fitness while giving your body time to fully recover.

8. Consider a Professional Assessment

Being sore after a race is completely normal. It can last several days beyond the typical muscle soreness that you would get after a challenging workout.

However, sharp and or intense pain that worsens or persists is not normal and may need to be looked at.  Take note of any areas that feel unusually painful, swollen, or stiff. As a physiotherapist, I recommend addressing these issues sooner rather than later.

Consider scheduling an appointment with a physiotherapist who is well-versed in treating runners for a thorough assessment and treatment plan. It’s always better to get it checked out even if it turns out not to be a serious injury.

Final Words on Finishing a Race

The steps you take after a race are just as important as the ones you took leading up to it. By cooling down properly, rehydrating, refueling, and giving your body the rest it needs, you’ll set yourself up for a quicker recovery and stronger future performances.

Remember, recovery isn’t just about taking time off—it’s about actively supporting your body as it heals and prepares for the next challenge.

Happy running,

April :)

References:

Baxter, C., Mc Naughton, L. R., Sparks, A., Norton, L., & Bentley, D. (2017). Impact of stretching on the performance and injury risk of long-distance runners. Research in sports medicine (Print), 25(1), 78–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2016.1258640

Bernat-Adell, M. D., Collado-Boira, E. J., Moles-Julio, P., Panizo-González, N., Martínez-Navarro, I., Hernando-Fuster, B., & Hernando-Domingo, C. (2021). Recovery of Inflammation, Cardiac, and Muscle Damage Biomarkers After Running a Marathon. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 35(3), 626–632. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003167

Bird, Stephen P. PhD, CSCS1,2. Sleep, Recovery, and Athletic Performance: A Brief Review and Recommendations. Strength and Conditioning Journal 35(5):p 43-47, October 2013. | DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0b013e3182a62e2f

Bonnar, D., Bartel, K., Kakoschke, N., & Lang, C. (2018). Sleep Interventions Designed to Improve Athletic Performance and Recovery: A Systematic Review of Current Approaches. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 48(3), 683–703. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0832-x

Halperin, I., Aboodarda, S. J., Button, D. C., Andersen, L. L., & Behm, D. G. (2014). Roller massager improves range of motion of plantar flexor muscles without subsequent decreases in force parameters. International journal of sports physical therapy, 9(1), 92–102.

Pearcey, G. E., Bradbury-Squires, D. J., Kawamoto, J. E., Drinkwater, E. J., Behm, D. G., & Button, D. C. (2015). Foam rolling for delayed-onset muscle soreness and recovery of dynamic performance measures. Journal of athletic training, 50(1), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-50.1.01

Racinais, S., Alonso, J. M., Coutts, A. J., Flouris, A. D., Girard, O., González-Alonso, J., Hausswirth, C., Jay, O., Lee, J. K., Mitchell, N., Nassis, G. P., Nybo, L., Pluim, B. M., Roelands, B., Sawka, M. N., Wingo, J., & Périard, J. D. (2015). Consensus recommendations on training and competing in the heat. British journal of sports medicine, 49(18), 1164–1173. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-094915

Ross, A., & Thomas, S. (2010). The health benefits of yoga and exercise: a review of comparison studies. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 16(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2009.0044

Sullivan, K. M., Silvey, D. B., Button, D. C., & Behm, D. G. (2013). Roller-massager application to the hamstrings increases sit-and-reach range of motion within five to ten seconds without performance impairments. International journal of sports physical therapy, 8(3), 228–236.