Running is on the rise globally, with more people than ever tackling serious challenges like a 42.2km marathon and ultra-marathons like the Two Oceans and Comrades.
In South Africa, there were a total of 121,480 official finishers in marathon and ultra running events in 2024, with marathon finishers accounting for 79,576 and ultra finishers at 41,904. This represents a 15.2% increase from 2023 figures, with ultra finishers up by 17.1%.
If you’ve caught the running bug, follow these 5 tips to support your recovery between sessions to make your new journey enjoyable and successful.
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#1. Optimal nutrition
Supporting tissue (muscle and tendons) repair with the right amount of combination of macronutrients is the foundation for optimal recovery.
Your diet should replenish depleted energy reserves with quality carbohydrates, repair and regenerate muscle and connective tissues with protein and collagen, and support other physiological adaptations with hormone production with the right amount and source of natural fats, including some saturated fat.
Your diet should also include a range of nutrients to support various metabolic processes and your immune system.
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#2. Supplement support
You can support your diets with a range of specially formulated supplements that supply the necessary macronutrients in the correct ratios to support recovery.
For instance, it is critical to ensure your body is adequately fuelled before a hard training session, as circulating glucose you don’t deplete glycogen stores as quickly while readily available amino acids can limit muscle damage, effectively reducing your recovery requirements after training.
A pre-workout drink that combines carbs and protein delivers the energy to fuel your efforts and amino acids to limit muscle damage and support recovery.
Directly after training or a race, it is beneficial to replace depleted glycogen stores and support the muscle repair process with a post-workout recovery shake that contains both.
The loading forces your body experiences during running can also increase the damage done to tendons and other connective tissues.
Tendons are made of a tough, fibrous substance called collagen, which means that supplementing with a product that provides an additional source of these structural proteins, like a collagen supplement can support tissue repair and may reduce injury risk.
Additional protein throughout the day, especially in the morning, from a protein shake can offer additional recovery benefits.
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#3. Rest to recover
A recovery day reduces the demands you place on muscle and connective tissues to give them an opportunity to recover and adapt to the training stimulus.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean complete inactivity. Active recovery days de-load the stress imposed on the body while promoting circulation to support natural recovery processes.
Avoid sitting or lying down for extended periods during the day. It is important to promote blood flow and restore tissue health and function by actively engaging in restorative and regenerative activities.
Active recovery days can include a range of low-impact activities that promote movement, such as swimming, cycling, walking, yoga, mobility work and stretching. These sessions are ideal after long training sessions, structured workouts or double training days.
If you choose to take a day off from all activity, it is beneficial to include some form of proactive recovery technique, like cold water immersion, hot-cold contrasting, massage (self-massage, a session with a qualified massage therapist or a percussion gun), EMS, a hyperbaric chamber session or time in recovery boots/legs.
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#4. Sleep
Runners at every level need sufficient sleep to promote optimal recovery. Getting 7-9 hours of deep, restorative sleep a night, with sufficient deep and REM sleep, is vital as this is when your body adapts to the physiological demands we impose on it during training.
In this regard, the hours before midnight are the most beneficial as your body generally drops off into deep sleep during this phase in the sleep cycle.
This is also the period when muscle-building hormone levels typically peak. So avoid late nights and try to maintain a regular sleep routine.
You can support your recovery overnight by promoting better sleep with a sleep support supplement.
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#5. Fluid and electrolytes
You must also consider your fluid intake and electrolyte balance needs after training, especially when it is hot and humid.
Aim to replace the fluid and electrolytes lost through sweat during training sessions to prevent dehydration.
Your body requires electrolytes because these salts maintain fluid balance and promote more efficient absorption. Any fluid deficit or partial dehydration can also decrease blood volume, which in turn slows the delivery of vital nutrients to recovering muscles and the removal of metabolic waste.
As such, it important to drink an electrolyte solution after intense or prolonged training sessions.
Author: Pedro van Gaalen
When he’s not writing about sport or health and fitness, Pedro is probably out training for his next marathon or ultra-marathon. He’s worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms expert. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.
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