Training for a marathon places significant physical demands on the body. As weekly mileage increases, runners often experience muscle tightness, fatigue, and an increased risk of injury. Incorporating sports massage into your training routine can be an effective way to support recovery, improve performance, and help you stay consistent throughout your training cycle.
At Physio On The Green, sports massage is commonly used by runners preparing for events such as the London Marathon, half marathons and endurance races. When combined with appropriate training, recovery and strength work, massage therapy can play an important role in maintaining healthy muscles during long-distance training.
Our sports massage therapists also work closely with our running specialist physiotherapists, who can provide training advice, injury management and running gait analysis to help optimise your performance and reduce injury risk throughout your marathon preparation.
Why Marathon Training Puts Stress on Your Muscles
Marathon preparation typically involves gradually increasing running volume over several months. While this progressive training helps build endurance, it also places repeated stress on muscles, tendons, and connective tissue.
Common issues runners experience during marathon training include:
- Tight calves and Achilles tendons
- Hamstring and glute tightness
- Iliotibial (IT) band irritation
- Hip flexor stiffness
- General muscle fatigue and soreness
Without adequate recovery, these stresses can lead to overuse injuries such as runner’s knee, shin splints or tendon irritation. Research suggests that overuse injuries account for a large proportion of running injuries, particularly during periods of increased training volume (Videbæk et al., 2015).
Sports massage can help address these issues by supporting muscle recovery and maintaining healthy movement patterns.
How Sports Massage Helps Marathon Runners
Sports massage focuses on reducing muscle tension, improving circulation, and maintaining optimal muscle function. For runners, this can help manage the physical demands of regular training. Some of the key benefits include:
Reducing Muscle Tightness
Long-distance running often leads to tightness in the calves, hamstrings, glutes and hip flexors. Sports massage helps release muscle tension and improve tissue mobility and fluidity, which can make running feel more comfortable and efficient.
Improving Recovery Between Runs
Massage may help increase local circulation and reduce muscle stiffness following exercise, which may support recovery between training sessions (Davis et al., 2020). This can help support the removal of metabolic waste and deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, allowing runners to recover more effectively between training sessions.
Supporting Injury Prevention
By identifying and treating areas of tension or imbalance early, sports massage can help reduce the likelihood of developing common overuse injuries associated with marathon training.
Improving Flexibility and Mobility
Maintaining adequate mobility in the hips, ankles and surrounding muscles can improve running mechanics and reduce unnecessary strain on joints and soft tissues.
When Should You Get a Sports Massage During Marathon Training?
The timing of sports massage can vary depending on your training schedule and mileage.
During Your Training Block
Many runners benefit from regular sports massage throughout their training plan, particularly as mileage begins to increase. Treatments every 2–4 weeks can help maintain muscle health and manage accumulating fatigue.
After Long Runs
Following particularly demanding training sessions or long runs, sports massage can assist with muscle recovery and soreness management.
Before Race Day
A light sports massage a few days before your race can help keep muscles relaxed and mobile without creating unnecessary fatigue.
After the Marathon
Post-race massage can help support recovery by reducing muscle pain, tightness, and stiffness after the event.
Common Areas Treated in Runners
During a sports massage for runners, therapists typically focus on areas that experience the most load during running.
These may include:
- Calves and Achilles tendon
- Hamstrings
- Quadriceps
- Glutes
- Hip flexors
- IT band and lateral thigh
- Lower back
Treatment is always tailored to the runner’s training load, symptoms and individual biomechanics.
Combining Sports Massage With Expert Running Advice
While sports massage can support muscle recovery, combining treatment with specialist physiotherapy input can further enhance your marathon preparation.
At Physio On The Green, runners can also work with our running specialist physiotherapists who provide:
- Running gait analysis to assess your running technique
- Training advice to help structure your mileage safely
- Strength and conditioning guidance to improve running efficiency
- Injury assessment and rehabilitation if pain develops during training
By combining sports massage with physiotherapy expertise, we can help identify potential issues early and keep you training consistently and confidently towards race day.
Sports Massage for Marathon Runners in Parsons Green
If you are preparing for a marathon or long-distance running event, sports massage can help support your training and recovery.
At Physio On The Green, our experienced therapists provide targeted sports massage treatments designed to help runners manage muscle tightness, reduce injury risk, and maintain optimal performance. Our team also works closely with running specialist physiotherapists to provide training advice and running gait assessments where needed.
To learn more about the treatment, visit our Sports Massage page or call 020 7870 0313 for more
Written By Laura Phillips | Sports Massage Therapist | Pregnancy Massage therapist
References
Videbæk S, Bueno AM, Nielsen RO, Rasmussen S.
Incidence of running-related injuries per 1000 h of running in different types of runners: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sports Medicine. 2015.
Davis HL, Alabed S, Chico TJA.
Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. 2020.