If you're going to run a lot, you need to be equally committed to your recovery to avoid injury and burnout. That's something I've learned, sometimes the hard way, over the past decade of running. I've gradually increased the amount I train in that time and run 15 marathons, and to support that I've done a lot of stretching, strength training, and indulged in many, many hot baths.
My favorite part of recovery is obviously the baths, but I do now like stretching a lot as well. At first it felt like a chore to do some yoga for runners or even a couple of half-hearted half-bends after a run, but once I got into a routine, I started to enjoy stretching a lot more.
I find the best way to stretch is to do a full routine, either following a yoga video on YouTube or Apple Fitness+, but if I have limited time there are four stretches I'll aim to squeeze in no matter what after a hard or long run.
In no particular order, here are those stretches.
My hamstrings are my biggest area of concern, because they are the muscles that usually feel tightest after tough runs. The pyramid stretch is a great move for lengthening the hamstrings as well as your hips and lower back, and it's a common inclusion in yoga routines focused on the legs.
There's a reason almost every yoga routine includes downward dog, it's a great all-round stretch that targets the back side of your legs as well as your shoulders, hips and back.
I include it in my routines primarily to work the hamstrings and calf muscles, and I tend to do a version of the stretch where I pedal my heels in turn to target the calves in particular.
Another hamstring-focused move, this isn't really a stretch you do as part of a yoga routine, so I usually add it onto the end as a separate move, or do it as a standalone exercise later in the day.
This is a dynamic stretch that's great to do before runs as part of your warm up, as well as during your recovery routine. The world's greatest stretch works your glutes, hamstrings, hips, chest and back muscles, with the glutes being the key area for me.