Twenty minutes under the gazebo at the race for £25, or the week before and after in the clinic
Pre- and post-event massage
Fast, light, warming work before a race and flushing, restorative work after it, under our gazebo at the Cardiff Half, the Bay 10K and twenty other events a year for £25 a go, or in the clinic in the days either side. We know what a race-week body needs and what it does not, which is deep work.
A race-week body is not the same as a training body, and the massage it needs is not the same either. Before the event the work is quick, light and warming, to wake the muscles up without loosening them so much they lose their spring. Afterwards it is flushing and gentle, to move the waste out and start the repair. Both are twenty minutes under a gazebo, and we do about twenty-three events a year.
Pre-event, in the clinic two to four days before: thirty minutes of brisk, superficial work on the race muscles, no deep tissue, no trigger points, nothing that leaves you sore. On the day, under the gazebo, twenty minutes of the same an hour before the start, with a dynamic stretch to finish. It is not the time to fix anything; it is the time to arrive feeling ready.
Post-event, at the finish: twenty minutes of light flushing on the legs, gentle stretching, and an honest look at anything that hurt during the race. Deep work on a muscle that has just run a marathon is a mistake and we will not do it; the proper session is three to five days later in the clinic, forty-five minutes, when the inflammation has settled and the tissue will accept it.
Race organisers and clubs book the gazebo by the day: two couches, two therapists, a list that fills from the website in the week before and a queue on the day. We charge the runners £25 each and the organiser nothing, or the organiser pays a flat day rate and the runners nothing; we have done it both ways. The gazebo has been at the Cardiff Half every year since 2017.
What is included
- Twenty minutes at the event, £25
- Pre-event: brisk, light, warming, no deep work
- Post-event: flushing, stretching, a look at what hurt
- The proper session three to five days after
- A list that fills from the website in race week
- Gazebo days for clubs and organisers
What it costs
£25 for twenty minutes at an event, pre or post; book ahead on the day's list or queue. In the clinic, a pre-event thirty minutes is £38 and the post-event forty-five is £50. Clubs and events book the gazebo by the day. The prices page has every length and block side by side; the treatment picker says which one fits what is bothering you.
Questions about event massage
Should I have a massage the day before a race?
Only a light one, and only if you have had massage before. A deep session the day before is the commonest way to turn up at the start with heavy legs. Two to four days before is the right window.
Which events are you at?
The Cardiff Half, the Bay 10K, the Cardiff Triathlon, the Velothon when it runs, the Castles sportives and most of the local parkrun anniversaries. The list for the month is on the treatments page and we post it on our social pages.
The next free slot is on this website. Take it.
Forty-five minutes is £50 and the usual first booking: ten minutes of talking, thirty-five hands on, a stretch and a drill written down. Pick an hour on the book page up to two hours ahead, or ring the clinic and we find you one.