The Marathon... Injuries, cramps, learnings.... But what a GREAT day for London.

To those who took part in the marathon this year I salute you. What a magnificent achievement if you finished, and even if it didn't go to plan you have attempted something that most wouldn't dare to try, so hats off to you.

Also what an incredible day for London. It may be the algorithms that show me a lot of negativity about London, and in some cases I agree, but when the sun is out and the marathon is on, I'm not sure that there is anywhere in the world that can beat it. Having spoken to people who took part, they were blown away by the support and the noise, which makes you proud to be a part of it, and frankly proud to be an English.

But let's be honest, this wasn't an easy marathon. Some of the 'lucky ones' got away with it, but I saw a lot of comments about injuries, muscle cramps and stomach cramps, so I thought I'd write a few things about how this might be solved. I hope it offers insight into what you might do better next time.

How to reduce the risk of injuries

• Strength programme - Throughout your training there needs to be a progressive strength training programme. I truly believe that this has become much more important in the last 20 years, as our jobs have become more sedentary, we move much less, and our bones and muscles don't get the daily stress that they used too. There needs to be a concerted effort to load these structures with weight, in a GYM, regularly. I see lots of running based 'strength programmes' on instagram giving banded exercises, bodyweight exercises, and exercises that resemble performing arts, but it's just not enough. I honestly think that instead of doing these exercises, you may as well just run as you would probably get stronger from that alone!

So what should you be aiming to do, and what should your targets be?

Below are some strength targets that a man who is competitively running the marathon should aim for. You will notice that I focus quite heavily on single leg exercises for runners, for the simple reason that it is a single leg sport, so they have the most carryover.

Do you think you could do these weights:

Barbell split squat - 70% of your bodyweight for one rep.

Barbell step up - 70% of your bodyweight for one rep.

Single leg Romanian deadlift - 50% of your bodyweight for one rep.

(Single leg) Leg press 1.2-1.5 x your bodyweight for one rep.

Bench press - Your bodyweight for one rep.

Chin up - 10 full reps

This is not an exhaustive list, but it should give you an idea of where you are aiming, and how far away you are. This can be achieved by anyone in 6 month MAX with a good programme.

2. Taper well, but not too well - A good taper should happen in the 2 weeks leading into the marathon, where you reduce the overall training load by approximately 25% each week leading into the race. This is OVERALL training load, which means you reduce everything by this amount. Often I see the strength training go out of the window during this time which is an error, and you will feel niggles creep in if you don't keep up the strength work (alongside the running).

3. Adapt your training so you get to the start line - With the best training in the world sometimes you will get a niggle, and it's usually the knees. This tends to happen when you are either doing, or very near doing your long run. This is obviously not great news, but the one comfort that you can take from it is that you have done most of the training already, and you are otherwise fit and ready to go. When this happens it is easy to 'test' the knee with a run to see how it is, which is an error as it often makes things much worse. At this point I will advise my clients to do exactly what they were going to do on their feet, on a bike. Use the same timings and the same heart rate zones, but on a bike instead of running. The reason for this is that the bike uses the same cyclical motion as running without the impact forces, and therefore mimics the running movement nicely.

Ideal.... no..... better than making the injury worse.... YES.

4. Complete the training - It sounds obvious right. It's called a marathon for a reason, it's really hard. To complete it you need to commit, look after yourself, and get the work done. This includes all the training, sleeping well, eating well and looking after yourself.

How to reduce stomach cramps.

• Carb load in 4 days leading up to the race, with the high carb day 2 days before the race, not the day before. I have put this video up numerous times but here it is again. I have found that this is by far the best way of carb loading to avoid stomach problems. https://www.loom.com/share/7b672cfe00284df7ab9b19cab3549914?sid=c1f9d9cf-2895-45bf-9e24-e29b2e3739e0.

• Eat what you normally eat. If you don't normally eat a metric tonne of carbonara of an evening, don't do it the night before a race!!

• Eat a normal breakfast pre race, same principle as point number 2, there is a full plan in the video.

• Don't eat spicy food.

• Make sure you have tested your race nutrition strategy before you run. Some people like gels, some hate them. Some people like isotonic drinks, some hate them. Find what works for you months in advance of the race. You should be dialling this in as early as possible. If you have no idea about this there is an explanation in the video linked above.

How to reduce muscle cramps.

This is a tricky one because of the heat on the day, but below are a few ideas.

• Cramps are your body telling you its on the brink of injury, it a protective mechanism. This could be through a lack of adequate hydration, too much stress on the system, or your body going into the unknown and not being confident that it can cope.

• You should be hydrating in the 4-5 days leading into the race. Your pee should be clear throughout and you should be sipping water regularly. It takes this amount of time to be truly hydrated.

• You should have tested your race nutrition using isotonic drinks leading into the race, so you get your salts and fluid balance correct. You should also be getting enough race day nutrition so your muscles have the energy to perform. Once again, this should be tested in advance.

• You should be strong enough to cope with the rigours of a marathon. If the stress exceeds your body's ability, you will cramp. Strength is key.

• Don't take ibuprofen for pain relief on the day. This affects the kidneys and your fluid balance, and is not a great idea.

A final thought on the marathon.

For most, completing a marathon is the goal and times are less important. If this is you, then I still hope that you can find some helpful tips in this article to make the next time more enjoyable.

If you are aiming for a time or if last week has motivated you to aim for more, then try and build all of this into your training programme, which will give you the best chance of success in the future.

What's been happening at Razor Performance.

We had two marathon entries for a set of brothers that are on the programme. I'm delighted to say we had one spectacular PB and one second fasted time.

For the former I am so pleased, as when I met said client he was a little downbeat, struggling with a bad glute, groin, lower back and a strange foot pain . Fast forward 8 months and we have booked an Ironman and he just ran a 2.55 marathon, 5 minutes faster than his stretch goal!!! More importantly, he is injury free!!

For the latter, he was going for a PB but he is at an elite level, so pb's are a little harder to come by and the weather did play its part. Still, a 2.34 isn't bad 🫣. Sub 2.30 is still the target and the quest continues. We did have a few stumbling blocks in the lead up, which I will talk about in a future article, as it's important to know this isn't all smooth sailing.

Another client spent the weekend in Majorca, completing 160k through the hills on his bike, which is amazing, and what a great way to see the world.

We also have a return to 2 x run programme currently taking place, a hiking/mountain biking/kayaking challenge on the horizon, ironman planning, rehabilitation from a hip operation, and lots of clients just getting strong and lean as hell!!!

And finally

I get people strong. I get them strong enough to compete and be injury free. I get them strong in the places they need it the most. I get them strong enough to shield them from most injuries and their old injuries.

Then I aim to get them to try something amazing or to feel amazing. Whether that's beating an old gym PB, completing an event, or just feeling as strong as you used to be or would like to be.

No fluff, just expert advice and support.

If you need this, or you have that nagging feeling that you could be doing much better than you currently are, get in touch.

https://www.razorperformance.co.uk/contact