Marathon Injury Prevention Tips

With a very exciting London Marathon coming up this weekend with the likes of Mo Farrar & Eliud Kipchoge running, I thought it would be good to talk about some top simple pre and post event injury prevention tips.

It’s great when your training has gone well and you have tapered following your training plan, and you feel ready for the main event – and what a great event!

So you’ve reached the last few days injury free! And that is the way we want to stay!

Top tips:

Stay well hydrated – Leading upto, pre and post event. Drink water little and often. If you don’t it may affect your muscle quality, contribute to cramping, cause some muscle, ligament and tendon tightness, which could contribute to a muscle pull or efficiency affecting your performance. This aswell as your overall body chemistry potentially affecting your performance.

Eat appropriately – Eat the right stuff and at the right time. There is plenty of information out there of what and when to eat, which I am sure you have got lots of information on but it is common sense. Timing is everything. If it’s your first Marathon or running event it’s never easy to work out what works for you, everyone is different.

Keep running – I am sure a lot of your training programmes have suggested at this stage you keep a little running going at a steady pace and significantly reduced distance as part of your tapering pre-event. Stick to it, it should stand you in good stead. Again if this is your first Marathon then it is difficult to work out what works best for you. Follow your plan.

Stay flexible – Remember to keep stretching, dynamically pre-event and statically post event and keep stretching during your tapering. Keep those muscles nice and long. That will go some way to help you stay injury free and improve your running efficiency.

Sports Massage – Consider a sport massage a couple of days before and after the event and certainly try the available pre and post event massages. Its helps get rid of toxins and goes someway in reducing tightness helping reduce injury.

Niggles – any hint of a niggle then it might be worth seeing a physiotherapist to get assessed. They can do a few patch up jobs using taping techniques.

Don’t try anything new now! No to trying new energy bars or gels on the day or committing the school boy error of getting a new pair of running shoes for the event. Stick to what you know.

And lastly enjoy the event knowing that you have planned as well as you can. Have a great run!

Kevin Huffington

Blog compiled by Kevin Huffington, Clinical Director and Lead Physiotherapist at Central Health

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