Pilates and marathon training

by Patricia
(Australia)

Pilates and marathon training :

"Hi Marius

I have just bought the 100 day program and am wondering on your thoughts about pilates and the benefits for marathon training. I am doing it twice a week at present and I am 70yrs.

Thanks Patricia"

Answer: Hi Patricia and thanks for your question.

One of the risks with running at age (especially the marathon) is that elasticity in the tendons - and partially the muscles, go down after you are about 35-45 years old. This increases the chance of injuries.

Now, there are very few studies to support the effect of regular stretches etc, but with Pilates, you do this dynamically which will be very good for your age - in combination with marathon training.

It is important, though, to be careful and do Pilates only after easy runs/ on easy training days. If you just came in from one of the very hard workouts you see in the 100 day plan, you have to be extra careful as the muscle tone will be increased after those runs - and stretching the muscles too much can risk injuries.

So to sum up - I'm positive to combining Pilates with marathon training, especially for injury prevention beyond a certain again.

I wish you all the best,

kind regards,
Marius