Recovery strategies, training volume, and performance in Japanese recreational marathon runners: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Recovery strategies are widely used by endurance runners; however, large-scale evidence describing recovery behaviours among recreational marathon runners remains limited. This study aimed to describe recovery strategy utilisation and future interest among Japanese recreational marathon runners and to explore associations with training volume and marathon performance. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among recreational marathon runners in Japan. Of the 206,000 invited runners, 6,082 responded (response rate, 3.0%), and data from 5,204 participants were analysed. Information on demographics, personal best (PB) marathon time, monthly training volume, current use of recovery strategies, and future interest was collected. Descriptive analyses were performed, and exploratory multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations with PB and monthly training volume. Results Bathing, stretching, hot spring use and massage were the most commonly reported recovery strategies (86.5%, 85.0%, 66.7% and 47.0%, respectively), whereas modalities requiring specialised services, such as acupuncture and moxibustion, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and oxygen capsules, were less frequently used. More than 60% of participants reported daily bathing. Future interest exceeded current utilisation for most recovery methods, particularly those requiring specialised services. Exploratory multivariable analyses identified modest cross-sectional associations: active recovery (standardised β = −0.092), contrast baths (β = −0.065), and acupuncture and moxibustion (β = −0.049) were associated with shorter PB marathon times, whereas active recovery (β = 0.158), contrast baths (β = 0.097), and acupuncture and moxibustion (β = 0.088) were associated with higher monthly training volume after FDR correction. The full PB model explained 35.9% of the variance in PB marathon time (R² = 0.359), whereas the primary monthly training-volume model explained 8.0% (R² = 0.080). These findings should not be interpreted as evidence of causal relationships. Conclusions Japanese recreational marathon runners commonly reported using bathing, stretching, hot spring use, and massage as recovery strategies. Future interest exceeded current utilisation for several specialised recovery methods. Exploratory analyses identified modest associations between recovery behaviours, PB, and monthly training volume. Because this was a cross-sectional descriptive study, the observed associations should not be interpreted as evidence that individual recovery strategies improve marathon performance. These findings should be regarded as hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in future longitudinal and interventional studies. Because of the low response rate, these findings should be interpreted as descriptive patterns among survey respondents.