It has been proven! Massage therapy will help recovery after a running race.  For many years it has been suspected, but according to research published in both the Journal for Athletic Training and the British Journal of Sports Medicine, massage can help decrease the stress hormone cortisol which is connected to inflammation.  Dr. Mark Rapaport, M.D. found that massage after exercise helped decrease Post Exercise Muscles Soreness which is that achy still feeling you get after a hard work out.  It also increases several types of lymphocytes, blood cells that fight infection.  "More research is needed, but it's reasonable think that massage could help runners taxed from exertion", Rappaport says.  

For more information read the following article in Runners World:
http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prevention-recovery/the-pros-and-cons-of-massages-for-runners