Written by Rich Saxton
Recovery is not time away from training. It is an essential part of getting fitter, stronger and more resilient as a runner.
Whether you are preparing for your first 5K, building towards a half marathon or chasing a marathon PB, it is easy to focus on the sessions that feel productive: the long runs, interval training, tempo efforts and increasing weekly mileage.
But what happens between those sessions matters just as much.
Running places stress on the body. This stress stimulates adaptations that can improve endurance, strength and performance, but those adaptations depend on how well you recover. If training demands consistently exceed your ability to recover, fatigue can accumulate, performance may stagnate and your ability to tolerate further training can be compromised.
A consensus statement published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance highlights the importance of balancing training stress with recovery to support sustained performance and reduce the risk of under-recovery.
At Run Serve Health Physiotherapy, we believe that effective recovery starts with understanding your body and making informed decisions about your training.
This was highlighted recently in the video with Keely Hodgkinson (Olympic 800m Champion) and Ella Toone (England and Manchester United footballer).
Here are four important areas to consider.
1. Sleep: Your foundation for recovery
Sleep is one of the most important, yet frequently overlooked, aspects of athletic recovery.
It supports physical restoration, cognitive function, mood and the processes involved in adapting to training. Poor or insufficient sleep can also affect concentration, decision-making and how well you cope with the demands of training and everyday life.
A 2021 expert consensus review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine examined the relationship between sleep and athletic performance. It highlighted that sleep needs vary between individuals and that athletes may need more sleep during demanding training periods. The authors also acknowledged that evidence for some specific sleep interventions remains limited.
How much sleep does a runner need?
Seven to nine hours is a useful general guide for adults, but it is not a universal target. Some runners may need more, particularly when training volume increases or they are recovering from a demanding race or block of training.
Rather than focusing exclusively on a number, consider how you feel throughout the day, whether you wake feeling refreshed and whether your sleep is consistent.
Practical ways to improve sleep
Establish a routine: Aim for reasonably consistent bedtimes and wake-up times.
Allow enough opportunity to sleep: Avoid routinely sacrificing sleep to fit in an early training session.
Create a suitable environment: A cool, dark and quiet bedroom can help.
Consider your training schedule: Late, intense sessions or very early starts may interfere with your sleep routine.
Pay attention to patterns: Persistent poor sleep alongside fatigue and declining performance may indicate that your training or wider lifestyle demands need reviewing.
Sleep trackers can provide useful estimates of sleep duration and patterns, but their measurements are not perfect. Avoid allowing a single score to dictate how you feel or whether you train.
The takeaway: Before investing in another recovery gadget or supplement, look at whether you are consistently giving yourself enough time to sleep.
2. Nutrition: Give your body the fuel to adapt
Training creates a demand for energy. Your body needs sufficient energy and nutrients not only to complete a run, but also to recover and adapt afterwards.
Nutrition is particularly important when training volume increases, when sessions become more intense or when runners combine endurance training with strength work.
The joint position statement from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada and the American College of Sports Medicine identifies appropriate nutrition and hydration strategies as important contributors to sporting performance and recovery.
Carbohydrates: Replenishing energy stores
Carbohydrates help replenish muscle glycogen, one of the body's key energy sources during running.
If you are running regularly, particularly when sessions are long or intense, consistently consuming too little carbohydrate can make it harder to replenish these stores and maintain the quality of subsequent sessions.
This does not mean every runner needs the same amount. Requirements depend on body size, training volume, intensity and individual circumstances.
Practical options include oats, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, fruit and other carbohydrate-rich foods that suit your preferences.
Protein: Supporting repair and adaptation
Protein provides the amino acids required to repair and maintain body tissues. Adequate protein intake, distributed across meals throughout the day, can support recovery alongside an appropriate overall diet.
Useful sources include eggs, dairy products, fish, meat, beans, lentils, tofu and other protein-rich foods.
Hydration: Replacing fluid losses
Fluid requirements vary with temperature, humidity, exercise duration and individual sweat rates.
For shorter, easy runs, drinking according to thirst may be sufficient for many people. Longer runs, hot conditions and sessions with substantial sweat losses require more planning.
After particularly sweaty sessions, consider replacing lost fluid alongside food and, where appropriate, sodium.
The importance of eating enough
One of the most important considerations is total energy availability: whether you are consuming enough energy to support both exercise and normal bodily functions.
Consistently under-fuelling can compromise health, recovery and performance. In some runners, low energy availability can contribute to relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs), which can affect both male and female athletes as we have previously discussed before.
Potential warning signs include persistent fatigue, declining performance, recurrent injuries, changes in mood, disrupted menstrual function or reduced libido.
These symptoms have multiple possible causes, so they should not automatically be attributed to under-fuelling. If they persist, seek appropriate medical or sports health advice.
The takeaway: Recovery nutrition is not about finding a perfect post-run shake. It starts with eating enough, consuming a balanced diet and matching your fuelling to the demands of your training.
3. Training load: Recognising when more becomes too much
Progressive training is essential for improving running performance. However, increasing mileage, intensity and frequency without allowing sufficient recovery can become counterproductive.
Training load is more than the number of kilometres you run each week.
It includes:
The distance and duration of each session.
The intensity of intervals, tempo runs and races.
Hills, uneven terrain and changes in running surface.
Strength training and other sports.
How accustomed you are to your current training.
Your sleep, nutrition, work demands, stress and recent illness.
Two runners completing the same training plan may respond very differently because their training histories, recovery capacity and wider circumstances differ.
What does the evidence tell us?
The International Olympic Committee has published consensus statements examining the relationship between training load, injury and illness in sport. These highlight the importance of monitoring training demands, considering individual responses and accounting for psychological and lifestyle stressors.
Importantly, there is no single mileage increase or training-load threshold that reliably predicts injury for every runner. The commonly repeated rule of increasing mileage by no more than 10% per week should not be treated as a universal scientific guarantee of safety.
Instead, training progression should reflect your current capacity, training history, goals and response to previous sessions.
Warning signs that recovery may be insufficient
One poor run does not mean you are overtraining. Performance naturally fluctuates, and occasional fatigue is a normal part of a training programme.
However, pay attention when several changes persist together, such as:
Unusually heavy legs or persistent fatigue.
Repeatedly struggling to complete sessions that were previously manageable.
A sustained decline in running performance.
Poor sleep or changes in mood.
Reduced motivation or difficulty concentrating.
Recurrent illness or injuries.
Persistent pain that worsens as you continue training.
These signs are not specific to overtraining and may have other explanations, including illness, iron deficiency, inadequate energy intake or other medical conditions.
Overtraining syndrome is a more serious and prolonged condition involving persistent underperformance and maladaptation. It should not be diagnosed simply because you feel tired after a hard week.
If symptoms persist despite reducing training, seek advice from an appropriate healthcare professional.
How can you monitor your training?
You do not necessarily need sophisticated technology.
A simple training diary can record:
Distance and duration.
Session intensity and how difficult it felt.
Sleep quality and general energy.
Muscle soreness and any developing pain.
Mood, motivation and overall wellbeing.
Looking at trends over several days or weeks is often more useful than reacting to an isolated measurement.
For runners using heart-rate monitoring, pace data or performance testing, these measures can provide additional context. They should complement, rather than replace, your experience of how you are responding to training.
The takeaway: The aim is not to avoid training stress. It is to apply enough stress to stimulate improvement without repeatedly exceeding your ability to recover.
4. Rest days, physiotherapy and coaching: Building consistency
Rest is sometimes viewed as lost training time, particularly when you have a race approaching or a target that requires commitment.
In reality, recovery needs to be built into your training plan. Adaptation depends on the balance between training stress and the time and resources available to recover.
Do runners need complete rest days?
Not every runner needs the same number of rest days, and there is no universal schedule that works for everyone.
Depending on your experience, goals and training load, recovery might involve:
A complete rest day.
An easy run at a genuinely comfortable intensity.
Gentle walking or mobility work.
A lower-load day between demanding sessions.
A reduction in training volume after a race or particularly challenging week.
The important distinction is between an easy session and another session that adds substantial fatigue.
Easy running should generally feel controlled enough that you can maintain a conversation. If every run becomes a test of pace, it becomes harder to separate your demanding sessions from your recovery sessions.
Rest days should also be flexible. A planned session may need to change if you are unwell, unusually fatigued or experiencing pain that alters your running.
Where does physiotherapy fit in?
Physiotherapy can help runners understand pain, assess injuries and develop a structured plan to restore function and return to running.
Depending on your presentation and goals, an assessment may consider your training history, symptoms, running demands, strength, movement and the capacity of the tissues involved.
Physiotherapy may then involve:
Assessing persistent or recurring running-related pain.
Developing an individualised rehabilitation and strengthening programme.
Managing training load while maintaining appropriate activity.
Guiding progression back to running after injury.
Identifying relevant physical capacity deficits.
Helping you understand when symptoms warrant further investigation.
Not every running injury is caused by weak muscles or poor running technique, and there is no single treatment that prevents all running injuries. The aim is to understand the factors relevant to your individual presentation and address those that can reasonably be changed.
Why combine physiotherapy and coaching?
Coaching and physiotherapy offer complementary perspectives.
A coach can help determine what training is appropriate for your performance goals. A physiotherapist can help assess pain, rehabilitation needs and physical capacity.
When these perspectives work together, decisions about training can take account of both performance and health. For example, a runner recovering from an Achilles tendon injury may need a structured strengthening programme alongside carefully managed running exposure and a gradual return to faster sessions.
This approach can help runners make more informed decisions and support a consistent return to training.
The takeaway: Rest days are not a weakness, and seeking physiotherapy is not only for runners who have stopped running. Both can play a role in helping you train more effectively over the long term.
Bringing it all together: Your recovery checklist
You do not need to optimise every aspect of recovery overnight. Start with the fundamentals and focus on the changes that are most relevant to you.
Use this checklist to review your current routine:
Sleep: Am I consistently allowing enough time to sleep and recover?
Nutrition: Am I eating enough to support my training, including carbohydrate and protein?
Hydration: Am I replacing fluid losses appropriately for my sessions and conditions?
Training load: Have I increased mileage, intensity or frequency more quickly than I can comfortably tolerate?
Rest: Are my easy days genuinely easy, and do I have adequate recovery built into my week?
Monitoring: Am I noticing persistent fatigue, declining performance or changes in pain?
Support: Would a coach or physiotherapist help me address a specific training or injury concern?
If you identify several areas that need attention, start with the basics rather than adding more complexity. Consistency with sleep, fuelling and sensible training progression is often a more useful starting point than chasing the latest recovery trend.
Final thoughts: Recovery is part of the plan
Improving as a runner is not simply about completing more kilometres or making every session harder.
It is about finding the right balance between training and recovery, recognising how your body responds and making adjustments when necessary.
Sleep supports recovery. Nutrition provides the energy and nutrients needed to adapt. Appropriate training progression helps manage the demands placed on your body. Rest, physiotherapy and coaching can help you respond to fatigue, manage injuries and keep your longer-term goals in view.
At Run Serve Health Physiotherapy in Wilmslow, we support runners at different stages of their journey, from managing running-related injuries to building strength and working towards performance goals.
Whether you are returning from injury, struggling with recurring niggles or looking to understand your training more clearly, we can help you develop an approach suited to your needs.
References and further reading
Walsh NP, et al. (2021). Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations.British Journal of Sports Medicine, 55, 356–368.
Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(3), 543–568.
Soligard T, et al. (2016). How much is too much? Part 1: International Olympic Committee consensus statement on load in sport and risk of injury. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Kellmann M, et al. (2018). Recovery and Performance in Sport: Consensus Statement. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 13(2), 240–245.