Some of this is true but a lot of it is just bunk. First of all these marathon runners need way more time to recuperate than a weightlifter/bodybuilder. Running that long is not what the body was made to do. Yes we can run but not made for long distances every fucking day like these little people do. Plus they do not eat properly to help with recuperation. Now weightlifting is more normal to the body. We were designed to work hard for survival. As long as you eat well and sleep well you could do the workouts every day but it is best to do every other day just in case. When you spit up your workouts into body parts etc it sounds good ( that the other parts are "resting" ) but in reality they are still doing some work AND now your using recuperation that they needed anyway. The body repairs as a whole it doesn't say "hey Im gonna repair biceps only" So a good nights sleep and good quality food and the body recuperates. Individuals may need more or less time depending on their genetics. The barbarian brothers once said there is no overtraining just under eating and under sleeping. Which really is true ( to a point)
Now soreness really doesn't mean much. Stretch your calves for a solid couple minutes. You will be sore the next day. Did you do muscle damage? in a way but thats it. Weight training is similar. You get sore because it is new to you and you stretched the muscle. So waiting for the soreness to go away is WRONG. You are just sore. And in fact working back out removes the soreness because you are bringing fresh blood there to wash away the waste products and you are " stretching" the muscle again. Don't think you need 96 hours to recuperate from MOST workouts etc. 48 hours is plenty.
