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Post-marathon blues are common: Here’s why they happen and what to do to bounce-back


With all the time energy, effort, hope, worry and expectation that goes into our marathon campaign, once we cross the finish line and the dust has settled, we can experience a post-marathon dip.  For some this dip is mild and not-too-significant and others, the post-marathon blues are more significant.
There are many reasons why we can have this experience. One of the main ones, which is often overlooked, is that when the body is physically tired, along with this can come at dip in mood. Another reason is that the marathon is such a big goal in our lives and when it passes we can feel somewhat lost without another goal to pursue. If we don't have another event planned, training can seem quite pointless. Or, if we have another goal, it can be difficult to get up for it.

So how do we remedy this and bounce-back after a spring marathon?

  1. If you feel the post-marathon blues, and recognise it as a common and normal experience.
  2. Rest up and recover, take it easy for a while.
  3. Do something different: planned another event in, a half-marathon, 10K, 5K, adventure race or something that is different to a marathon, that appears more fun and that makes you motivated and interested again in training for something.
  4. Mix things up in a training: if you haven't done hill reps for a while to some hill reps, if you haven't done speedwork for a while do some speedwork, the same goes for anything in your training: off-road running, running with buddies, doing shorter runs, whatever that it is interesting to you, that has variety. Just make sure that it's not like what your marathon training was in about – such as logging long miles, and always feeling fatigued.
Dr Victor Thompson
www.sportspsychologist.com

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