Episode 107 – How to Deal With the Post-Race Lull

You’ve spent weeks or months training for a race. You cross the finish line, get the medal, celebrate the achievement… and then suddenly think: now what?

That post-race lull is real, and I’ve experienced it myself — even after finally breaking three hours for the marathon after years of chasing it. 

In this episode, I talk about what happens mentally after a big race and why the build-up can sometimes feel more powerful than the achievement itself.

I cover:

•  Why feeling flat after a marathon or major goal is completely normal 
•  Why you shouldn’t immediately rush to book your next race 
•  The importance of actually processing and celebrating what you’ve achieved 
•  How to decide what comes next without acting from disappointment or guilt 
•  Why having another goal can help maintain momentum 
•  How to avoid the cycle of racing, stopping completely and having to start again 
•  Why your next challenge doesn’t necessarily need to be bigger — it could simply be different 

Whether you’ve just completed your first 5K, a marathon, an ultra or finally achieved a long-term PB, give yourself time to appreciate it.

Then, when the dust has settled, ask yourself a simple question:

What do I genuinely want to do next?

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the 12 months to Marathon Podcast with me, John Hill, the running podcast for the over 35s with Marathon Dreams, episode 107, how to cope with post-race lulls. What's going on with me at the moment? Well, I'm currently training for high rocks. I've given myself a bit of an extended plan because of holidays and stuff like that. I've just come back from holiday myself, uh, which is a really good uh example of recovery, which I'll talk about in a different podcast. Uh but yeah, all good. This end um stuff, training quite intensely at the moment, trying to refine my technique for high rocks um between now and October. So I wanted to do this podcast today because somebody I noticed a post on Instagram, funnily enough, and somebody had like a caption that said, Nobody told me what would happen after I ran my last marathon. And I commented and said, Well, actually, I have, and I spoke about it on a podcast of mine before, but I wanted to do it again in a whole podcast, really, just to link into two separate issues here, which is number one, the post-race lull. And a race is a big deal for you, whatever that might be. It might be your first 5k, it might be your first marathon, first ultra, whatever. So you'll so a race that you have done, yeah. And the second thing is the goal setting side of things and the importance of that. So, one thing I'll caveat this with a little bit of background. So, as some of you know from listening to this podcast, I lost a load of weight 21 years ago. Uh, kept it off since. And one of the things that helped me to keep the weight off was the fact that I took the results that I got and did something with it, right? That makes sense. So I decided to become a fitness professional. So I couldn't really gain all my weight back because I'd invested in something that helped me to buffer my um weight gain or weight loss, as it were. Now, if you listen to my interview with Mark Simpson uh a few episodes ago, he said exactly the same thing. He wanted something when he lost all his weight, it was running that was going to help him to keep the weight off. So that's what I did, and I call that evolving. So you evolve as part of the aware process as I call it, which is a previous podcast, one of the first ones that I did. So, what you do is when you get a particular result, like a weight loss thing, for example, is if you evolve that to do something with it, then you're more likely to keep the weight off. What most people do is they lose weight for an event, wedding, holiday, something like that. And then because there's nothing beyond that, they default back to what they did before because they've tried a diet which hasn't created long-lasting change, different story for a different day. So, what do we do then with this post-race lull? Now, one of the biggest ones I see is when somebody does like a massive event. Now, I'm going to use the London Marathon as an example because I'm in the UK, so let's just use that as an example. So I see a lot of people who put all this effort into the London Marathon. That might be the training, that might be the training plus the charity stuff if they're doing that. That might be the day itself, the pictures, the videos, the photos. Now, when I go back to my sub three in Manchester in 2023, that was a big deal for me. I put everything into that for a good few years because it was something that I believed I could do. Now, when I did it in 2023, I remember crossing the finish line, getting my medal, and this little voice said, Oh, was that it? And it that's there's a good lesson in that because it's almost like what we do is like there's this principle about dopamine, which is where dopamine is at its highest in the anticipation of something, and when something happens, it obviously it's not as high because it's the anticipation that's the key. So I it was the anticipation. So when I remember like when I was running in my sub three effort, and I remember when I thought to myself, oh, this is on, I had this sort of boost of energy and adrenaline because I thought, well, I can do this. But when I finished, it was like, okay, is that it? Now I've got to get home. I had a flat tire, a puncture in my car, which I had to go and get fixed. So you can imagine there's me a couple of hours after doing a sub three marathon, sat in quick fit in Manchester with a medal around my neck and the hoodie that I bought, waiting for my tire to be blown up and fixed. So it's almost like that all here's real life again, and that's what we have to do, and that's the reality for a lot of marathon runners, particularly a lot of marathon runners that I train who are over 35. You've got to get back to real life as quick as you possibly can because you've got responsibilities. So that's the first thing to talk about is that post-race law. The second thing is the goals that we set because ultimately you can get into a cycle of needing to set the next goal, which has got positives and negatives to it, okay? So, in terms of the post-race law, I think the first thing I would say to anybody is that just expect it in advance. So, if you are doing a big marathon, like the next biggest one, I think, as I record this, would be Sydney, the Sydney marathon, and then we've got after that Chicago. I would probably say if you are doing a big marathon and it you know it's gonna be a big deal and you've put a lot into it through training, through charity, through a mixture of both, is just expect once you've done it, there is gonna be a bit of a lull, okay? And that's normal, it's like anything in life, it's like the big event that happens, and then there's a natural lull after it because you've put so much effort into it. So I think part of the problem is expectation, it's often anger is anger is often unmet expectations, okay. So if your expectation is I'm gonna have a bit of a lull after this is done, then you kind of soften that blow a little bit, yeah. That then leads me into the next part, which bleeds in together, which is basically about goals. Now, the uh the hesitate here because there's positives and negatives to this, because in my existence, if I don't have something to train for or prepare for, it can cause me problems psychologically because when I've gained weight in the past, even in my new life as I call it, and I don't mean like gaining all my weight back, but gaining enough to for it to be noticeable, it's when I haven't had something to focus on. So I think it's important to maybe have that next goal in mind as soon as you possibly can after an event. But what you don't want to do, in my opinion, is be thinking about that straight away. So if you've finished a big event, big marathon, big race, big PB, whatever it is, what you don't want to be doing is within seconds across the finish line is start thinking on your phone what's next, what's next, because you'll diminish the context of the achievement that you've just done. Okay, so you need some time to process it, yeah. And I I've not I've been guilty of that in the past, not sitting there and going, oh, actually, I did quite well there. Like when I did my second fastest half marathon this year, which I didn't realise I was gonna do until I'd finished, I had a little bit of I should have pushed it and gone for the PB. But actually, then I thought, well, hang on a minute, I'm 48 and I've just done that. That's pretty good, and you've got to give yourself a little bit of a pat on the back. So give yourself some recovery time to digest and process what you've done, because then you'll appreciate it more. You won't be thinking, oh, I've got to jump on to the next thing to try and fulfil that dopamine rush because that can cause problems, which fits into the next point. If you keep chasing, you're always going to be chasing, okay? So you just need to take a step back, put things into context, and say, Okay, I need to just understand what I've done here and process it, and then settle down and look for the next thing. Once you've done that, and there's no real time limit on that, in my opinion, it's okay to then go, okay, what's next? Now I was having a chat with somebody this week actually in my coaching community, and we were talking about it's their first marathon coming up, and I said, Well, there are only things that you learn by doing your first one. So you can coach someone, you can prepare them, you can do all of that stuff. But the truth is you don't really know until you've actually done it, yeah. And once you've done it, you've then arguably got a decision to make. You can either go, I am never doing that again, and I've worked with people who've said that, or you can go, hmm, okay, can I do that better? Or are there areas for improvement? Yeah, and either way is fine, it's your choice, it's your life, it's whatever you choose to do. If it's the second one, and you go, Oh, actually, there's perhaps a bit more there, I can perhaps achieve a bit more, that's okay. You've just got to take a step back and go, all right, I can there is there is more to be had here. I can potentially do a bit more and potentially achieve a bit more, and that's okay. Just set a goal and and and have a go and try because you only know by doing things, okay, and that's alright as well. So what you've got to try and do is find a balance between hunting the next thing and not letting yourself fall into a pattern. Because what I see, and I've seen this this year, is people will do a marathon, spring, and then summer will come, holidays, distractions, things like that, which are part of what we do in life, and especially with the people that I work with, but then that can cause a little bit of a bump in the road. And then once that's done, no matter how focused you are, you've then perhaps got a little eye on winter, particularly like Christmas and things like that, and a lot of people down tools for that period, and then it's back to it in January and trying to claw yourself back. So if that's a cycle that you fall into, that's where potentially you can start to lose momentum and motivation in yourself because you're allowing seasonality to dictate what you do. And you've got to remember that a lot of the programming messages that we we ingest are about that seasonality. So it's like, oh, spring's here, you know, time for spring cleaning, summer's here, time to get in shape for your holiday, holiday's done, and next thing you know, the Christmas stuff's in the shops, and that's it. But we're being led to behave in a certain way as consumers, which often is not conducive to our health. You know, for example, if you're trying to find something on the TV at the moment, there's very little on, but you know when winter comes, there's going to be tons and tons of new series coming out because they want people staying at home watching TV because it's cold and it's dark and all the rest of it. Now, there's nothing wrong with those activities on uh on their own, but if you're trying to stay motivated with running, especially all year round, then potentially you need to look at what your next goal is, and that doesn't have to be anything major. So, for example, some people will do a marathon, for example, and then say, Well, I'm gonna go back to halves and see if I can get a half PB, so at least you've got something to aim at, and that could you could fit that into a 10k. Do you know what I mean? Or something else? It's always about having that balance and not going too far one way or the other. So, as I said, you know, to give you this in a nutshell, the post-race lull is normal, it happens, it's coming, expect it, right? That's the first thing, so it will happen, and don't get too upset by uh, don't get panic or think you've got to start looking at races straight away. But it is a normal thing that does happen. I've experienced it on all of my races. The second thing is it's okay to set new goals, but just remember don't do that too quickly, and don't do that from a place of guilt or resentment or remorse because you don't want to panic yourself or guilt yourself into doing something else because you didn't feel you performed at your best, because that's not the best way to do it. You need to look at what you did in context. And to be honest, chill out is a very simple way of saying it, but it's true. You need to chill out, take yourself, give yourself a bit of time, and just say, right, okay, let's look at what I've just done and what do I want to do with that. So typically in my world, that's marathons. It's right, I've just done a marathon. If that's your first one, particularly, then that lull's probably gonna be a bit heavier because it's your first one and you've probably put a lot into it physically and emotionally, so it is gonna be a bit more of a lull, but you've got to sit down and look at what you actually did. And some and and just remember this, especially when it comes to setting times and things like that, because it's very tricky to set times for first marathons. This I'm I'm aware this is a little bit of a tangent, but it does will help you. When you set a time for your first marathon, you've got nothing to base that on, so it's you know, you don't want to be too disappointed because you don't know what to expect until you're out there. So don't get consumed by that, but look at it objectively and say, Well, okay, what could I have realistically improved on there? And there might be stuff, there might not be, but usually there are little things, but you can't make those decisions from a place of emotion, you know. You you've got to make those decisions from a place of clarity and calmness, which is enjoy the moment, celebrate the moment, and then focus and then potentially look at focusing on the next thing, whatever that's going to be, and whatever how that's gonna fit within your particular life. Because let's say, let's say you do a major, right? So let's say you do a London, for example, because again, I'm here in the UK, you might never do that marathon again. So, you for me, you should, in my own opinion, you should absorb as much as you can of that um experience because it might not happen, and that can go for any major, and that's only going to get more challenging with the way the majors are going. So, in conclusion, post-race a little normal, happens to all of us, deal with it, it's a normal reaction to most things. If you if you're aware of it, it can lighten the load a little bit. Secondly, it's okay to set new goals as long as those goals are realistic and, in my opinion, done from a place of clarity, not a place of guilt or resentment. And it's okay to pursue things as long as it fits within your life and your lifestyle. And that's kind of what I would say. The trick is to try and look at a way to stay as motivated and as disciplined as you can all year round, obviously, taking into account that seasons change and things like that. What you don't want to do is do a big event and then do nothing for a year because then it's so much harder to get back to it. And that's it doesn't have to be anything, it can be you know, you can just go out a couple of times a week, it doesn't have to be anything particular. Okay, so hopefully that's useful in terms of race, post-race lulls, and how to think about goal setting after you've done a big event, particularly if you've got an event coming up over the next couple of weeks and months for the autumn season, or if you've got one eye on spring next year. So, thank you very much for listening as always. I appreciate it. If you're new to the podcast, don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcast from, Apple or Spotify. If you're a regular listener, please take the time to drop me a quick review wherever you get your uh podcast from, particularly Spotify. The reviews and uh comments help me on there. If you can share it with your friends, again, I very much appreciate that. If you can share it on your stories and Instagram as well. Speaking of Instagram, if you hop over to there and follow me at 12 months to marathon for all your daily content and tips. And if you want to click on the link in my bio, you can join my free running community for the over 35s where we can take you away from the noise of social media and we can share some accountability and support there. So, as always, I really, really appreciate you listening. Thank you very much indeed, and I'll speak to you all again very soon.