Have you signed up for a spring marathon — London, Manchester, or maybe heading abroad to Rome or Paris? Marathon training is an exciting challenge, but it also places significant demands on the body.
This guide is designed to help you train smarter, reduce injury risk, and arrive on race day feeling strong, confident, and well-prepared. Whether it’s your first marathon or your fifth, these principles apply to every runner.
Why Injury Risk Increases During Marathon Training
A marathon is a demanding distance: 42.2 kilometres (26.2 miles) of physical and mental effort. To meet that challenge, most runners commit to structured training blocks, often 16 weeks long, with long runs, intervals, tempo sessions, and increasing weekly mileage.
Problems tend to arise when training load increases too quickly or without sufficient recovery. While long runs and speed work are essential, they must be progressively introduced over time. When training load exceeds what your tissues are currently prepared for, the result is often an overuse injury rather than improved performance.
Your muscles, tendons, bones, and joints adapt best to gradual overload, not sudden spikes in volume or intensity.
The 3 Most Common Causes of Running Injuries
1. Rapid Spikes in Training Load
Load management is the number one factor in injury prevention. Doing too much, too soon is one of the most common mistakes runners make during marathon training.
Long runs, intervals, hill sessions, and tempo work should be phased in across the base, build, and peak phases, before tapering. Your body adapts to steady progression — not dramatic jumps. You wouldn’t attempt a 150kg bench press if your previous max was 80kg, so jumping from 10–15km per week to 50km in week one follows the same flawed logic.
2. Insufficient Recovery
Recovery is not optional — it’s where adaptation happens.
The amount of recovery required varies depending on experience, age, stress levels, and total training load. Some runners thrive with two to three rest days per week, while others tolerate slightly less. Recovery includes:
- Planned rest days
- Quality sleep
- Adequate carbohydrate and protein intake
Without sufficient sleep and nutrition, muscular repair is compromised, increasing the likelihood of muscle strains, tendon irritation, and persistent niggles.
3. Neglecting Strength Training
Runners who skip resistance training often find that weaker areas become exposed as marathon mileage increases.
Strength training helps build tissue capacity, allowing the body to tolerate repeated loading more efficiently. It also improves running economy, which can enhance performance as fatigue sets in. Stronger runners are not just more resilient — they’re more efficient.
The Top 3 Strategies to Stay Injury-Free
1. Learn to Listen to Your Body
One of the most valuable skills a runner can develop is knowing when to adjust the plan.
Life stress, poor sleep, work demands, and accumulated fatigue all influence how well your body can tolerate training. Ignoring warning signs often leads to injury. Missing one run is far better than pushing through discomfort and losing several weeks to injury.
Aches and pains are feedback, not something to power through blindly.
2. Prioritise Strength and Prehab
Strength training places controlled load through muscles, joints, and bones, improving resilience across the entire system.
Research shows that heavy, slow resistance training with lower repetitions is particularly beneficial for runners. Lighter, high-rep exercises closely mimic running itself and often don’t provide enough stimulus for strength adaptation.
Single-leg exercises are especially valuable for runners, including:
- Bulgarian split squats
- Single-leg Romanian deadlifts
- Copenhagen adductor planks
- Hip hikes
- Single-leg calf raises
These movements improve strength, stability, and control — all essential for injury prevention during marathon training.
3. Use Manual Therapy Strategically
Regular check-ins with a healthcare professional such as a chiropractor, sports therapist, or physiotherapist can be extremely valuable during a marathon training block. You can book all these services with us on our website
Manual therapy supports recovery, addresses movement restrictions, and helps identify potential problem areas early. Catching issues early often allows for small training adjustments rather than complete rest, helping runners stay consistent and on track.
Train Smart, Not Just Hard
Marathon success isn’t built on grit alone — it’s built on smart planning, progressive loading, and consistent recovery. By managing training load, prioritising strength, and responding early to warning signs, you give yourself the best chance of reaching race day healthy and confident.
If you’re currently training for a marathon and want support with injury prevention, strength training, or recovery, the team at Move Shrewsbury is here to help.
