The initial excitement from seeing the admission email begins to fade and the first instinct is usually to search Google, or the app you’ve seen on Instagram for a marathon plan, buy a new pair of shoes and get out there as soon as possible. While the enthusiasm is understandable, it is also at this initial stage that many runners make mistakes.
At Remedy Health and Performance, we see the same pattern every year. Training volume increases before the body is physically ready to cope with it, and small, often preventable niggles become injuries. Mileage goes out the window and strength work gets forgotten whilst runners spend more time managing pain than enjoying the process to get them through the race.
Marathon training is exactly that, a process. And at Remedy we have everything in place to start that process to help you get through your training and enjoy it all the way to the finish line. If this is your first marathon – or perhaps you’ve hobbled through one in the past – then here’s exactly how we think you should approach the training block.
Step One: Find Your Starting Point
Most runners know their 5k time, but very few know exactly how they run, let alone whether one calf is producing 25% less force than the other, whether their hips are generating enough power, or whether they are compensating through one side every time they run.
Marathon training is all about gradually increasing your load. If one area is already working harder than another before training begins, increasing your mileage will only highlight and exaggerate any imbalance rather than fix it. This is why we recommend beginning with a physiotherapy assessment and some objective testing rather than guesswork.
Our specialist assessment combines objective strength testing of the key running muscles, a look at your biomechanics and a gait analysis to give you an idea of the areas your body loads during running and whether we need to make any amends to your training as your volume increases to suit the way you move.
Every runner is different, so instead of assuming your glutes are weak and hammering out squats all week, you’ll have objective data and we’ll start you on a gym programme designed for you.
Step Two: Don’t Wait Until You’re Injured To See A Physio
One of the biggest mistakes runners make is waiting until their injury stops them running before seeing a physiotherapist.
If your Achilles feels tight after your interval session, your knee aches after every long run or your calf has nagging pain you just can’t seem to shake off, those are all opportunities to intervene before they become reasons to stop training.
We work with runners every day, identifying the reason symptoms develop rather than simply treating where they hurt. Sometimes that means improving ankle mobility, building hip strength, or simply adjusting your training load.
Regular check-ins with your physio mean we can identify any problems earlier, and this makes them easier to solve, ensuring you can keep running.
Step Three: Build Strength That Actually Transfers To Running
Most runners these days know they should strength train, but knowing which exercises they should be doing, and when, is often the problem.
Running places thousands of single-leg loading cycles through your body, putting huge forces through your calves, quadriceps and glutes. Your gym programme should prepare you for exactly that.
At Remedy, our strength and conditioning coaches programme exercises that improve force production, single-leg control, calf capacity and running resilience rather than simply making you feel tired for your long run at the weekend.
That could mean heavy calf raises, split squats, Romanian deadlifts, hip extension work or plyometric progressions, depending on where your assessment shows you need the most improvement. Not only that, but we can ensure you progress your exercises accordingly as your running load goes up, because strength work should complement your running, not impede it.
Step Four: Keep Checking Your Progress
As training volume increases, weaknesses show up, strength improves and your mechanics will change. That is why we regularly re-test runners throughout their marathon journey.
Instead of guessing whether you’re ready to hit the next big interval session or up your weight in the gym, we can assess whether those asymmetries you displayed initially are reducing and whether you’re adapting as expected – and if you need a slight tweak to your programme we’ll put it into action. Or if you’re simply tired from a high mileage week, our massage therapists can get you back feeling ready to go again.
A marathon programme tells you what runs to complete. It doesn’t tell you why your calf keeps tightening at 28km. It doesn’t explain why your hip pain means you’re limping to work on a Monday morning. It doesn’t identify the strength deficit that’s forcing your knee to work harder every time you climb a hill.
At Remedy our multidisciplinary approach can, and we can be with you every step of the way.
By combining physiotherapy, massage therapy and strength and conditioning under one roof, we can help you prepare with the confidence to cross that finish line with a smile.
Whether your goal is simply finishing or chasing a personal best, building the right foundations and getting that process in place now will make every mile over the coming months more enjoyable and more productive.
Book your assessment now and start your London Marathon preparation with a plan built around you, not just your finish time.
