Crossing the finish line of a marathon is an emotional experience. Feelings of joy or disappointment, as well as relief that it’s all over, mix with physical and mental exhaustion. After such an intense experience, it’s little wonder that many people can experience a period of feeling down or empty in the days or weeks that follow—like a marathon hangover. This has become known as the post-marathon blues.
What Are The Post-Marathon Blues?
There’s no established definition of the post-marathon blues, but here’s runner Ben Miller’s experience. “I gave everything I had and felt like I was going to break physically in order to hit my sub-three-hour goal. Emotionally, I was elated as I couldn’t quite believe I’d achieved my long-term ambition, but the comedown was hard. After a day or two, the blues kicked in, and I crashed from the high of achieving my aim. Everything was out of sorts—no routine of running, tiredness and muscle soreness still—so I wasn’t up for running, or more to the point couldn’t for about a week. The emotional high was gone and in some ways made worse as tiredness was playing a factor.”
