Training: How do I deal with the post-marathon blues?

As many of the big Fall marathons have come to the close, I’ve had a lot of people asking about what some people might call “runner’s depression.” They are feeling blue or melancholy after the completion of their event and they just don’t know why. This is very common for both experienced and first-time runners. After investing a great deal of mental and physical energy into preparing for a goal, you’re feeling the let-down from the pressure that comes along with it. These feelings may be even worse if you’ve been in a group program and you’ve been saying “good-byes” to friends, coaches or mentors.

What I’ve found is that you need to take some steps to help move yourself forward. As with many other happenings in your life, you need to close the chapter on this particular project and move forward to the next. But with that said, the first and most important thing to keep in mind, is that although you may feel like something is “over”, you’re really only closing this particular chapter, not ending the book, so to speak. If finishing your marathon was a good experience, then there can be more in the future - or different but similar activities - so don’t fret about putting these fun times to bed forever.

Step one: think about your experience. Take some time to think through the whole experience of training and completing your marathon. Try to focus on what you learned, what you liked and what you disliked. Reflecting on the experience will help you crystallize what it was the you enjoyed, or didn’t enjoy, about the process. Perhaps you liked the friendships of your team-mates, but didn’t actually like spending so many hours out running on Saturday morning. Or maybe you enjoyed the racing experience more than anything else. By identifying these areas, you can then make plans for future activities that you may enjoy as much or better than this one.

Step two: write about your experience. Sit down and write down some things that stood out to you. Do this soon after the event so that these details are still fresh in your mind. You can revisit these details later when you run your next marathon and you’ll be happy to have these thoughts. I personally find that writing about my races is very helpful in helping me get a clear picture of the event in my mind, which is a part of moving forward.

Step three: think about your goals. Spend some time thinking about what you’d like to do next. Do you want to run another marathon? Do you want to try another endurance sport like cycling or triathlon? Maybe you want to try something completely different like rock climbing or sculpting. This is for you to decide. But what’s important is that you take those key learnings in step one and think about what aspects of the experience you particularly enjoyed and then make that a part of your goals.

Step four: take a tangible step toward you goal. The biggest step forward will come when you take that step to start the next project or goal. I know personally I’ve often had these lingering feelings of melancholy until I picked my next big race and then registered for it. The moment that I hit the send button to pay my money to run the Boston Marathon last month, for example, I was completely energized around starting my preparations for that new goal. With that said, be careful of falling into the trap of simply filling up your time with races that don’t mean anything to you. The reason that your marathon had an impact on you, is because you spent so much time and energy preparing for it. A 5K coming up next weekend, won’t have the same impact on you. I’ve often picked out one or two key races each year and then tried to become a specialist in that discipline that particular year. For example, in 2006 it was Ironman triathlon and in 2007 it was ultra-trail running. I had to put some things aside to make this happen, but I feel so much more fulfilled than just signing up for things haphazardly every weekend.

These steps will really help you explore the experience and then move tangibly forward. You’ll find that they will not only take away the melancholy, but will also help you take more from the experience and perhaps enjoy your future experiences more as well.

Good luck!

Coach Joe English, Portland Oregon USA

Running Wild is a free column from runners and triathletes from running coach Joe English. Check out our archives of training and motivation articles!

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