How to recover from marathon training burnout and avoid it in the future
Are you struggling with marathon training and can’t bear the thought of lacing up your shoes for another training run?
Were you on a roll with your training but then lost momentum?
You might be facing marathon training burnout. And this can happen to any runner training for a marathon. So let’s catch it before it gets worse.
Take a break, especially if you feel tired all the time
Any soreness and tiredness (especially if you’ve had a few days of this) is a sign to hit pause on running to rest and recover.
A break might not be what you want to do right now and instead, run through this burnout phase, hoping it might turn around.
But if you continue to push on, you’ll become even more burnt out, you might overtrain (which can take months to recover from), or face an injury, which will prevent you from even starting your marathon.
If you’re standing at the marathon start, know this: You’re really lucky to be there. You made it to the start line and that is huge.
Because making your way through months of training without becoming overly exhausted or injured is an accomplishment itself.
Take a break, and you will find yourself wanting to jump back into marathon training.
Check your iron levels 1
No runner ever wants to feel drained while running, but without enough iron, you’ll feel just that.
You lose iron through sweat, and if you menstruate, you’re losing more every month. When it drops low enough, you’ll feel it — exhausted for no clear reason, legs that won’t cooperate, breathing harder than the effort calls for. Some people start craving ice, which sounds random but it’s a real sign.
But it’s not just iron that’s important, we also need to look at ferritin.
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron inside your cells. This may not be the best analogy, but it’s like a storage shed for iron.
Your ferritin levels have a direct impact on your total amount of iron. Low ferritin levels mean you’ll also have low iron.
As a runner, you should aim for ferritin levels of at least 30-40 ng/mL.
But everyone’s physiology and training demands are different, so these ferritin levels are a starting point, not a rule.
Do not self-treat with iron deficiency because this puts you at risk for iron overload, which is dangerous. Always get a blood test to confirm any iron deficiency.
Eat enough food
When you’re not eating enough, things start breaking down. Your hormones shift — cycles get irregular, testosterone drops. Your bones get more vulnerable. Recovery takes longer. And the pace you’ve been chasing? It moves further away, not closer.
Eating enough depends on you—your body type, genetics, background, and allergies. If you need a tailored program, it’s best to consider a nutritionist.
You’re demanding a lot from your body right now, so give yourself room to enjoy the foods you want to eat.
How to prevent marathon training burnout
Keep your runs easy
Each run in your marathon training plan has a purpose.
And easy runs help you build your muscle endurance, decrease your injury risk, and make it fun to run.
Your easy runs need to be easy and relaxed enough to give you the energy to do your next run—whether that’s a track workout, a tempo run, or a long run.
Try leaving your watch at home so that you aren’t tempted to go faster on your easy days.
Remember, keep your easy runs easy so that you can do your hard runs.
Do some fun runs
You’ll spend far more time training for your marathon than running the marathon itself, and it can get routine and monotonous.
But it doesn’t have to be.
Go explore a new trail. Or try a themed run where you listen to only classic 80s rock music.
Whatever is going to make running fun for you, bring that into your marathon training plan.
Use traffic light colors to color-code your workouts 2
Do you keep a running training log? One where you write down how your run felt, what you did, and a bunch of other notes?
If you don’t, a running log can be helpful for you to spot patterns, prevent injury and overtraining, especially if you color-code your workouts using traffic light colors—red (tired, sore), yellow (could be better), and green (feeling good).
Too many days of red are a warning sign—a literal red flag—that you need more rest.
Not into color-coding or these colors? You could change your handwriting to highlight bad runs or use your favorite colors.
What’s important is that your system makes sense and works for you.