Tapering: How to Cut Back Training Before a Race
Tapering is the reduction in training in the days or weeks before a race, and it is one of the parts of a plan that runners get wrong most often. Some keep training hard until the end for fear of losing fitness and arrive tired. Others go to the opposite extreme, almost stop running and arrive with heavy legs. Done well, tapering lets you reach the start line rested and sharp, and research links it to performance gains of around 2 to 3%. In this guide I explain how much to cut, what to keep and how long it should last depending on the distance.
What tapering is and why it works
When you train, you build up two things at once: fitness and fatigue. Fitness fades slowly and fatigue clears much faster. Tapering takes advantage of that difference: you lower the load enough for the fatigue to go, but not so much that you lose what you have gained.
You won’t get fitter in those weeks. What you do is let your fitness show by clearing away the fatigue built up over months.
How to taper: the three rules
A meta-analysis published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise summed up what works, and it boils down to three rules.
The first is to cut volume by 40 to 60% compared with your biggest weeks. This has the biggest effect. The second is to keep intensity: keep doing some race pace and a few short intervals, because if you only run easy your legs lose their sharpness. And the third is to keep almost the same frequency: if you run five days, keep running four or five, just shorter.
How long tapering should last by distance
The length depends on how long the race is and how much fatigue you are carrying.
| Race | Taper length | Volume reduction |
|---|---|---|
| 5K and 10K | 5 to 7 days | 30 to 40% |
| Half marathon | 10 to 14 days | 40 to 50% |
| Marathon | 2 to 3 weeks | 40 to 60%, gradual |
In the marathon the reduction is gradual: the first week you cut around 20 to 30%, the second around 40% and the last down to half or less. If you are preparing your first marathon or your first half marathon, the full plan is in those guides.
An example tapering week for a 10K
Imagine you train four days and about 35 km a week. Race week could look like this: an easy 30-minute run on Monday or Tuesday, on Wednesday 15 easy minutes plus 4 x 400 m at race pace with jogging recoveries, Thursday off, on Friday 20 very easy minutes with a couple of strides and Saturday off or a short jog. Sunday, the race.
If you don’t know your race pace, get it from the training pace calculator.
What to do besides running less
Eat well
Running less doesn’t mean eating much less. For a half marathon or marathon, the days before are when you carb load, so food counts as much as training. It is all in the guide on what to eat before a race.
Sleep
Sleep over the two nights before matters more than the night before the race, when many of us sleep badly from nerves. Make resting well a priority all week.
Don’t try anything new
No new shoes, no new strength exercises, no gels you haven’t used. Tapering is no time for experiments.
Common tapering mistakes
The most common one is trying to make up for missed sessions in the final weeks. A hard workout eight days before the race won’t make you fitter in time, but it will leave you tired.
The second is stopping completely. A few days without running are fine, but if you spend a whole week doing nothing, it is easy to feel heavy-legged on race day.
And the third is panicking about how you feel. During tapering it is normal to feel odd, with some new little ache or the sense that you have lost fitness. It is usually your body readjusting; if an ache gets worse, check the guide on runner injury prevention.
Conclusion
Good tapering is the cheapest way to improve your time: cut volume by 40 to 60%, keep some intensity and almost the same frequency, and adjust the length to the distance, from a week for a 10K to three for a marathon. Eat well, sleep and don’t try to make up for what you didn’t do. Arriving rested at the start is worth more than any last-minute workout. Choose well, run better.
Frequently asked questions
What is tapering in running?
It is reducing training volume in the days or weeks before a race, while keeping some intensity, so you arrive rested without losing fitness.
How long before a marathon should I start tapering?
Two to three weeks before, cutting volume gradually until you are at half or less in the final week.
How much should I cut volume when tapering?
40 to 60% of your biggest weeks for the half marathon and marathon, and a bit less, around 30 to 40%, for 5K and 10K.
Should I do intervals while tapering?
Yes, but short and few. Keeping some race pace stops your legs from going flat. What you cut is volume, not intensity.
Is it normal to feel bad while tapering?
Yes. It is common to feel heavy, doubtful or to notice a new little ache. It is usually part of the adjustment and disappears by race day.
