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Stretching
Stretching is most important after training to help recovery and return muscles to their resting length. Research suggests that stretches should be held for 30 seconds and repeated 4 times for each muscle group. Before we run, dynamic mobility is regarded as part of an optimal warm up. Remember that there is free sports massage and physiotherapy at the Snowdon Marathon which can help you both pre and post event.
Dynamic mobility means lengthening your muscles and either holding them briefly (3 secs) in that lengthened position or very gently bouncing at the end of range (the emphasis here is on gentle!) General movements are good and we should also ensure that we move the bony areas (low back and pelvis) to ensure our joints are ready to go too!! Hip circles, hip thrusts, touching toes, arm swings, calf stretches, groin stretches etc. should all be part of a thorough warm up.
The importance of stretching and being ready are also related to the problem of cramp. Cramp can happen for a number of reasons. Fatigue, high level exercise, dehydration and high level loading can all bring it on.
For marathon runners, cramp mainly effects the calf muscles which will tend to tighten up, become extremely sore and feel rock-hard to touch. The best way for an athlete to avoid problems is to make sure that they are stretching well during preparation and that enough training has been done so that the muscles are ready for the gruelling event.
If you get cramp during the race, the best thing is to try and gently stretch the calf out immediately. It should not mean the end of your race. You’ll have to slow things down while you see it through and you may even need to stop for a minute to give it a rub.