Crossing the finish line of a marathon is an emotional experience. Feelings of joy or disappointment, as well as relief that it’s all over, mix with physical and mental exhaustion. After such an intense experience, it’s little wonder that many people can experience a period of feeling down or empty in the days or weeks that follow—like a marathon hangover. This has become known as the post-marathon blues.
What Are The Post-Marathon Blues?
guidance from mental health charity Mind and frontline NHS doctor Emeka Okorocha about when to speak to a doctor about your mental health.Why Do People Get The Post-Marathon Blues?
P3RFORM and Aston Villa WFC. “When all the training is over and the high of the emotion has decreased, we can then go through a period of wondering where we go from there.”Liz Yelling, Olympic marathon runner and coach, agrees. “I think there are two types of sufferers of the post-marathon blues. Some may feel like a hole has been left in their lives from the routine of the training and the focus of having a goal, and others feel like they didn’t quite nail race day despite all their efforts. This can leave you disappointed and low.
“Training for something like a marathon is tough—you put a lot of your eggs in one basket and attempt to get it right for race day. It’s hard to deal with if the event doesn’t go to plan because you can’t keep racing the marathon every weekend until you get it right.”
What Can You Do About The Post-Marathon Blues?
marathon training. However, that treadmill is weirdly addictive and losing it post-race was harder than I thought it would be.”“Look at other goals that excite you and get them in the calendar, whether that’s another marathon, or another distance,” says Yelling. “Having a goal to look forward to, rather than dwelling on the past can help to move on and pull you out of the gloom.”
Miller did just that. “To get back in the game I picked some races for pure enjoyment, local races that I hadn’t run before, where I could utilize my marathon fitness to its maximum potential. I went into those races with no expectations. To prepare for them I just immersed myself completely in my running club, joining them most evenings, maximizing the social element, having a routine again. This gave me a completely different experience of running races I hadn’t been training for and surprisingly running them went well for me.”
