Crushed Your Race? Don’t Ruin Recovery

How best to recover from a race

You’ve just completed your Femmi Focus and absolutely crushed your race - so, now what? Knowing when and how to return after a race isn’t always straightforward. It can be hard to judge how much time you need and the best way to recover.

The important thing to remember is that you’re not just recovering from race day, you’re also recovering from the entire training block that led you there. That block required a huge investment of time, energy, and commitment. It takes a lot out of you, both physically and mentally.

Giving yourself space to rest and reset is essential not just to feel refreshed, but to allow your body to benefit from the periodization of your training and make the adaptations needed for long-term progress. Recovery is where the real gains happen, so honour it as part of the process before diving into your next specialized Focus.

Let’s get into a key part of recovery nutrition, and what to eat with our Femmi Dietitian, Sara Widdowson.

Post-Race Nutrition

Nailing recovery nutrition might be the last thing on your mind after a race, but giving it some thought as part of your recovery plan can make all the difference to how you feel in your body in the days and weeks post-race. Most importantly, it can help you get back to running again sooner.

Evidence suggests that the timing of your recovery nutrition matters. Recommendations suggest getting in nutrition within about 60 minutes of completing your race to support recovery and prevent delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

The 3 R’s of Recovery Nutrition:

• Rehydrate
• Repair
• Replenish

We want to rehydrate using fluids, promote muscle repair by including protein, and replenish glycogen stores with carbohydrate-rich foods.

Protein-containing foods include:

• Meat, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy products
• Tofu and tempeh
• Lentils and chickpeas
• Protein supplements such as protein powder
• Some grains such as quinoa and brown rice

Carbohydrate-containing foods include:

• Fruit
• Some vegetables; corn, potato, and kumara (sweet potato)
• Grains such as rice, quinoa, and oats
• Pasta
• Baked products such as bread, wraps, and baked goods

How much should you eat?

For your post-race recovery meal, aim for:

• ~20g of protein, e.g., a scoop of protein powder, 3 eggs, a cooked chicken thigh, or ~1 cup of Greek yoghurt.
• ~1g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight. For a 65kg female, this means a meal or snack containing about 65g of carbohydrates, roughly what you’d find in 2 crumpets with a squeeze of honey on top.

Easy post-race meals/snacks that hit the mark:

• 1 cup Greek yoghurt + 1 cup muesli or cereal + large glass of water
• Recovery smoothie – milk of choice, large banana, berries, scoop of protein powder, ice, nut butter
• 2 slices grainy toast or sourdough + 2 large eggs + side of orange juice
• Loaded chicken wrap with shredded chicken, cheese, beans, and vegetables + a glass of water

Low appetite after a race? That’s normal.

Appetite can often be low immediately following a race. This is due to hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which impact digestion and appetite. Blood supply is also diverted to larger muscle groups (like your arms and legs), which further affects digestion.

To work around this, include something easy to consume and transport to the finish line like flavoured milk and a banana. Keep it in your race drop bag or ask a supporter to bring it along when they meet you for your finish-line photo. This snack helps redirect blood flow back to the digestive tract and may improve appetite in the hours following your race.

Ongoing Recovery

It can take up to 72 hours to fully replenish glycogen stores post-race. You might notice increased hunger this is your body’s way of telling you to refuel. Trust it. Lean in.

Try increasing your portion sizes throughout the day, or add in extra snacks, like a light supper before bed.

When to Start Running Again

When deciding how long to rest before returning to running after a race, there are a few key factors to consider.

First, the race distance itself plays a major role. The longer the distance, the more recovery time your body will need. That’s because pushing your limits - especially over extended periods - places significant stress on your muscles, bones, and connective tissues. While this may sound intense, this cycle of stress and repair is how we adapt, grow stronger, and build endurance. However, the longer you remain in this high-stress state - such as during a marathon where you might be pushing for four hours - the more recovery your body will require afterward.

Beyond the race day effort, your training block also needs to be taken into account. Typically, longer races are preceded by longer, more demanding training cycles. For example, a marathon is often built on a 16-week training plan. After crossing the finish line, you’re not only recovering from the race itself but also from months of consistent physical load leading up to it.

Another crucial factor is your overall running history and conditioning. Your experience level - how long you’ve been running and how familiar you are with the distance you raced - can greatly influence your recovery rate. An experienced runner with multiple marathons under their belt may bounce back quicker than someone who has only recently taken up running and just completed their first marathon.

That said, this doesn’t mean you can’t run at all post-race. We do recommend taking at least a few complete rest days regardless of the race distance, to allow your body the chance to fully reset and then take into account all of the above to decide when is right for you to return to running. Following the Recovery Focus in Femmi will help guide you on this return to running. 

Alongside gradually increasing your running volume over time, including some mobility work, yoga, or walking can help promote blood flow. This supports inflammation reduction and can speed up your recovery.