On Sunday, Dave Walters, 60, of Lisle, Illinois, dominated the 60–64 age group at the New York City Marathon, winning by more than 17 minutes in 2:47:27. The feat was even more impressive considering that the airline pilot also won his age group at the Chicago Marathon—by more than 20 minutes—three weeks earlier, in 2:45:26.

Walters has done the Chicago Marathon-New York City Marathon double four times, and in the process, he has learned quite a bit about how to recover well and quickly from marathons.

“It’s the attention to detail that really seems to help,” Walters told Runner’s World. “You can’t just stumble through this whole process.” He notes that he now recovers from marathons faster than he did when he was much younger.

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“I don’t think age has a darn thing to do with it. My [ability to recover] hasn’t changed. The only thing that’s changed is I’ve figured it out.”

During the Race

For Walters, the recovery process begins before he even starts the race, as he’s found that being well fueled and hydrated during the race helps tremendously with post-race recovery.

  • He takes a GU Roctane Electrolyte Capsule before the start, and at the 8- and 16-mile marks. He takes GU Roctane Energy Gels on the starting line, and at miles 5, 10, and 15. He then grabs two additional gels on the course and takes one at mile 18, and tries to take another one later in the race.
  • Walters drinks whatever electrolyte beverage is available on the course. If the weather isn’t too hot, he starts drinking at mile five, and takes more at every aid station after that. He doesn’t bother with water, because taking in salt and minerals is his priority.

Immediately Following the Race

  • Walters has a protein shake as quickly as possible after the race, and then, he says, “Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, because the muscles are screaming for water.”
  • If he is dealing with a calf problem, Walters wears compression socks during the race. And if he doesn’t race in them, he puts them on as soon as possible after the race, and wears them all day (taking nights off) for the next three days.
  • Walters uses his foam roller in the hours after the race.
  • Focusing on taking in protein, Walters usually has his first meal 3-4 hours after the race.
  • Walters goes for a walk that evening, covering two miles at whatever pace he can muster.

The Week Following the Race

  • Walters continues to include some protein in all of his meals, focus on hydration, foam roll, and go for walks the Monday and Tuesday following a Sunday marathon.
  • On Wednesday, he’ll do about 45 minutes on the elliptical.
  • By Thursday, he’s ready to go for a six-mile run, but says he can always count on his first run back being a nightmare. (He gets sore from running marathons, just like the rest of us.)
  • By Friday, Walters says he’s usually back to 80 percent. The Friday after this year’s Chicago Marathon, he did 10 miles and was pleased to get down to marathon race pace. 

Getting Back Into Training

Walters considers the week after the Chicago Marathon to be a recovery week, the following week is a training week, and the final week before the New York City Marathon is a taper week.

  • During that middle training week, Walters ran 58 miles and did what he considers to be the equivalent of 22 miles on the elliptical. He shoots for one to two hard workouts during that week, which might include a hill workout and 11–12 miles, including 2 x 2 miles hard, seven or eight days before the New York City Marathon.
  • Walters usually feels fully recovered from Chicago within two weeks, and he uses the final week to rest up for the New York City Marathon. This year, he ran 24 miles in the six days leading up to the race.

Ongoing Recovery Tactics

Walters is a strong advocate for cross-training and he prefers to do his on the elliptical. 

  • He tries to double most days, with a run in the morning and an elliptical session later in the day. His 55–85 miles per week includes 15–20 miles on the elliptical.
  • Walters does a routine before and after every run that includes foam rolling, using “the Stick,” and dynamic stretching. His prerun routine takes 15 minutes, and his postrun routine takes 10.