Post-Race Sickness

Audio Transcript

Coach Laura McLean: Hey everyone. Thanks so much for joining me today.

I’m the newest coach on the Runners Connect team. I’m also the coaching coordinator for my club, The Long Boat Road Runners in Toronto Ontario, Canada and the assistant coach with Ryerson University Cross Country and Track and Field programs.

I am also a runner and I am so happy joining you on the daily podcast.

If you have a question that you’d like one of our expert coaches to answer in an upcoming episode, you can submit it at runnersconnect.net/daily.

We’d love to help you train smarter and faster, so please don’t hesitate to ask whatever has you curious.

Today’s question comes from Silvio. He says, “When I’m racing, I am pushing my body to the absolute limits. This has a huge stress for my immune system.

Is it just me or does it happen more often then I’m thinking? I’ve noticed this pattern for a couple of races. It is not a coincidence for me.

It happened for my single marathon, but it happens more often after 5 and 10K races for me.

Is there a way of avoiding it or a magical way to deal with it after it appears post-race? I’ve heard that vitamin C for colds is a myth so I’m back at the drawing table.

Laura: This is a great question and it’s something I also experience especially in the winter months. There are several factors that play here.

First, it’s normal for your immune system to be worn down at the end of a race because it’s worn down at the end of the training cycle.

This is because studies have shown that long sustained periods of intense training over many days or weeks has a negative effect on your immune system. Sustains the key word here.

Moderate exercise can boost your immune system, but when you take a long hard month of training into account, it has a different effect.

It’s not just you and I’m sure it seems that happens more often after 5 and 10K races than marathons, only because you’ve run more five in ten K. races than you have marathons.

You’re around a lot of different people out races in race day. Usually in a tight crowd for an extended period of time like at the expo or the starting corral or even during the race if it’s a big one.

If you’re flying to a race, you’re also in close contact with a lot of people on the airplane. You’re exposed to different people from many different places, carrying different germs on what’s already a weakened immune system.

Unfortunately, there’s no magical way with dealing with it, but getting sick is perfectly normal. There are things that you can do leading up to a race to avoid getting sick.

First, you want to avoid overtraining. Make sure you’re giving yourself proper rest and recovery between hard efforts and learn to listen to your body when it’s time to step back.

You want to get adequate sleep as this is especially important between workouts and after races. Get extra sleep in the weeks leading up to and following a big race.

Eat a healthy diet and this isn’t just for joining the training cycle. After your race you need to refuel on the carbohydrates and proteins that are necessary for a quick recovery.

You want to move your body into the recovery mode right away and you need to provide the tools to do so.

It can be really tempting after a long training block to celebrate your race with junk food and I am all for treating yourself, but there are important vitamins such as A, E, and C as well as Iron and Zinc that can boost the body’s immune system.

You want to make sure you get enough of these and be sure to include some leafy green vegetables, beans, or fruit in your post-race meal.

You can also explore getting a flu shot if that’s available to you and that may have medicated the risk of getting the flu.

In terms of prevention, hand hygiene is important. Wash your hands often and carry sanitizer. Practice this in your daily life but especially on race weekend.

I hope these answers science in light for you on why you’re getting sick after races. Take precaution before you race and have a good recovery strategy after your race to mitigate the risk of illness.

That’s all for today. If you enjoyed the show and are interested in supporting Extra Kick Podcast, check out runnersconnect.net/pledge. In return for your financial support, you’ll again access to all sorts of bonus content to help you train smarter and faster and will also help keep the podcast advertisement free.

Don’t forget to submit your questions at runnersconnect.net/daily. Thanks for listening and tune in tomorrow for another great question and answer on the Extra Kick Podcast.