What a taper does
Hard training builds fitness and fatigue at the same time. The taper removes the fatigue faster than the fitness fades. Research on tapering points the same way: cut the volume sharply, keep some intensity, and keep running as often as usual. A two-week taper with volume down by roughly 40 to 60% is the classic recipe.
Two weeks out
In Run 42 plans the first taper week is about 60% of your peak week. You keep your usual running days, a short 6 km at marathon pace rehearsal, and a medium long run of about 60% of your longest.
One week out
The second taper week drops to about 40% of the peak. The marathon-pace rehearsal stays, and the long run shrinks to about an hour. Keep the rhythm, cut the length.
Race week
- Five days before: about 35 minutes easy, just to keep the legs turning.
- Three days before: 25 minutes easy.
- Two days before: a 15-minute shake-out with a few 20-second strides at the end. Optional; skip it if you feel flat.
- Race day.
Taper madness
Feeling sluggish, heavy or anxious in the taper is normal. Your legs are repairing and storing fuel. Resist the urge to test your fitness with a hard run: nothing you do in the last ten days will make you fitter, but plenty can make you tired.
Food and sleep
Eat normally in the taper, then raise carbohydrate for the last two days: a common target is 8 to 12 g per kg of body weight per day for the 36 to 48 hours before the race. Sleep matters most two nights before the race, since the last night is often short.
Next: how to run the race itself.
