Why Sports Massage Should Be Part of Your Training Plan
Hear from West-Health's Expert Team of Sport Massage Therapists of How Sport Massage Can Change Your Race.
You train hard. You swim, bike, run, repeat. But how much thought do you give to what happens between sessions? Sports massage isn't a luxury; it's a training tool.
What's actually happening in your muscles
Every time you train, you create tiny amounts of muscle damage. Your body responds by increasing muscle stiffness as a protective mechanism. Without recovery strategies, that stiffness becomes your new normal, reducing your mobility and increasing your injury risk. Sports massage directly addresses this, resetting muscle tension back to healthy baseline levels.
Before your race: sharpen up
A pre-event sports massage uses lighter, faster techniques to get you ready to perform. It reduces stress and blood pressure, boosts blood flow and vasodilation, and improves flexibility, so your muscles are genuinely warmed up before you hit the water at Long Course Weekend, not just on paper.
After your race: recover smarter
Post-event massage uses firmer pressure to tackle the muscle tension and soreness that follows competition. It increases blood flow to flush out metabolic waste, reduces DOMS severity, and accelerates muscle repair. In a randomised trial of long-distance triathletes, those who received massage therapy after racing reported significantly lower pain and perceived fatigue compared to those who simply rested.
The bigger picture
Sports massage allows higher frequency and quality of training, improves flexibility, reduces the energy cost of movement, and helps manage both old injuries and new ones. For a multi-discipline event like Long Course Weekend, where tight hip flexors from the bike can wreck your run, that matters enormously.
Make it a habit, not an afterthought. Your body will thank you on race day.
We are delighted to announce that we are working with West Health UK again this year, and Pre & Post Race bookings for massages are now open.
Massage will be available at:
You can pre-book your massage via your Eventrac Account.
