Fun Running Post Event Recovery

Fun runs are the poor cousins of the marathon-without the associated glamour-yet they would haveas many people in them overall as marathon eventsMany people who enter them actually do take their running seriously and while they do not competeagainst others they do use them as training runs for other competition and take things seriously bycompeting against their own timesMost people do enter them for the fun, fund raising and activity, not taking themselves, times orposition in it too seriously-and this can be a problem for themThe ones who take them seriously are usually the person who is self motivated and trains byrunning around the block mornings and evenings-but the other people just turn up at the start duringthe dayWhen I worked with Jesper Olsen on his run around the globe and he ran over 26000 kilometers wehad people turning up to run with him who were only capable of doing marathon distance-but thatwas their limitIf a fun run is distanced at 1-3-5 kilometers or over, this is someone’s limit or equivalent of anaround the world run or someone else’s marathon-if they go over their limit (whatever it is) and nottrained for it-they can pay dearly for it in soreness and stiffness later on after the fun has all beenhad

Now you have to pay for the fun you have had

Paying for their funThe party is over now the blisters have to be fixed and muscle stiffness sets in

Fun Running Post Event Recovery using the World Run Recovery System2Copyright 2008 Michael Gillan ultra marathon recovery specialisthttp://aching-legs-relief.com/fun_runner.htmlThese guys are doing a fun run of 60 kilometers for the day

Let’s look at the recovery area of a fun run

Depending on the size of the fun runThere are usually just the local first aid people to fix blisters and treat for heat andcold related problems and a few local massage therapists to help those who havepushed the boundaries too far

Apart from the few who take their fun runs seriously most of the entrants do not have any recoveryplans for after the event other than to go home and suffer with soreness and stiffness until they getover it-because of the suffering they will have gone through both during and after the event formany of them it will be their last-and it shouldn’t be this way

Recovery after pushing the boundaries is easier than people think

There is much information on the internet and organisers have top athletes and trainers discussingequipment, training, and tactics-but there is one tactic that is not discussed very much and that isrecovery after it is all overRecovery is a subject that is difficult to deal with for many people because there is a mystique aboutit and much of it is scientific that most ordinary runners cannot understand or do for themselvesMy secret weapon of recovery when I looked after the Danish National Running Team at the 200724 Hour World Championship consisted of the chair next to the drink bottles

What do I do that is different to other more difficult to use recovery system?

I simply stopped working

the muscles and started to work

with

them

How does it help the fun runner who just wants to recover from the fun they had?

It makes it possible for them to recover without any training, specific techniques or equipment

The most important change in my approach though was to accept that in therecovery phase, most of the time there is no injury to fix-but with a little help thebody can be assisted to recover itself

Recovery is important for any fun runner-and the quicker it is started the faster the recoveryThe most effective time to get onto this is while they are in the 'window of opportunity'-while theyare still warm and pliableThey will be sore and fatigued-working

them using conventional recovery systems may do moreharm than good because it interferes with the bodies own recovery processes which start as soon asthe muscles stop being stressedGently assisting the muscles to get rid of by-products and wastes that have formed-as they areremoved, fresh blood enters the tissues to enhance healing-this allows the fun runner to get back totheir normal lifestyle without the inconvenience they would normally associate with after-effects.the muscles being enlisted to assist in their own recoveryIn the normal course of events there is very little injury other than small micro-tears in the over usedmuscle tissues-unless there has been a problem from an exterior sources such as impact or bio-mechanical causes (the running shoes, surface, blisters) to increase muscle stress, trained musclesare not injured in the conventional senseUsing conventional methods of recovery is not appropriate at this time and it may be ineffective asthese are being repaired by the body itself, any intrusive outside interference will slow this process.*Some research has shown that conventional systems do not help with recovery if it is done within2 hours of the end of the event-but all agree the athlete is still benefiting from the psychologicaleffect more than the physical as it gives after competition winds down.