Marathon Recovery and Why Recovery Starts Before Race Day

How long should you rest after a marathon? Coach Amanda (fresh off her fall marathon) and Coach Nick cover marathon recovery from taper week to your first run back.Pre-race recovery: why sleep across your whole training block matters more than the night before, packing a carb-load cooler for race travel, compression socks vs. calf sleeves on flights, protecting your social battery, and how long a shakeout run should be.Post-race recovery: why you should eat within an hour of finishing (even when you are not hungry), how to plan food at big-city marathons, how many days off to take (10 days to 2 weeks for Amanda, 7 days minimum for Nick), why workouts can take up to 8 weeks to feel normal, the recovery tools coaches actually use, and how to handle the post-marathon blues.Today's episode is sponsored by CEP and Running Explained listeners get 15% off their entire order when shopping CEP Running online through November 15! Shop CEP Running or enter code LRL-NYC-15 at checkout.Offer ends November 16, 2026, at 3:00AM EST. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.Timestamps0:00 Intro2:44 Pre-race recovery and taper7:14 Sleep before a marathon11:00 Compression socks vs. sleeves for travel16:13 Shakeout runs26:08 Post-race recovery starts at the finish line29:03 What to eat after a marathon38:50 How long to rest after a marathon45:59 Favorite recovery tools50:34 Post-marathon bluesMentioned: Post-race nutrition episode with Megan [LINK] | Dr. Stephanie Roth-Goldberg episode [LINK]Training plans and coaching: https://runningexplained.comThe Weekly Stride newsletter: https://www.runningexplained.com/theweeklystrideEnjoyed this one? Rate and review Running Explained and share it with your running friend (or someone you do not like, maybe they will like it).