Tapering: how to rest before race day
Tapering means running less in the final days or weeks before a race so that you start rested, not tired. Done well, it lets the training you have already banked show up on the day.
Why tapering works
Training makes you fitter, but it also leaves a layer of fatigue that hides that fitness. Fatigue fades faster than fitness does. Cut the workload for a short period and tiredness drops away while almost all of your endurance stays put. Muscles repair, energy stores refill, and running at race pace starts to feel easier.
The reverse is also true. Nothing you do in the last ten days will make you meaningfully fitter, because the body needs longer than that to adapt to a hard session. Extra training in the final fortnight can only add fatigue.
How long to taper
The longer the race, and the heavier the training behind it, the longer the taper.
| Distance | Taper length | Last long run | Race week running |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5K | 3 to 5 days | Normal long run the weekend before | Two short easy runs |
| 10K | About 1 week | Normal long run the weekend before | Two short runs, one with a few race-pace efforts |
| Half marathon | 10 to 14 days | Longest run 2 weeks before, 8 miles 1 week before | Two or three short runs, about half normal distance |
| Marathon | 3 weeks | Longest run 3 weeks before, then 13 miles, then 8 miles | Three short runs, about a third of peak distance |
Each of the plans on the training plans page has its taper built in, so if you are following one, the work is done for you.
What to cut and what to keep
Cut the distance
Volume is what you reduce. For a marathon, a common pattern is to drop to about 75% of your peak weekly distance three weeks out, 60% two weeks out, and 30 to 40% in race week, not counting the race itself. For a half marathon, think 70% then 50%. Shorten every run a little, and shorten the long run most.
Keep the frequency
Run on roughly the same days as usual. If you normally run four times a week, run three or four times in the taper, just for less time. Keeping the routine helps your legs stay loose and stops you feeling flat.
Keep a little pace
Do not turn every run into a shuffle. Short efforts at race pace keep your legs used to the speed you will be running. In the final week, something like four one-minute efforts at race pace inside an easy run is enough. Avoid long, hard sessions and anything that leaves you sore. The pace calculator will confirm what your race pace should feel like on the watch.
What the taper feels like
Many runners feel worse before they feel better. Common experiences include heavy or sluggish legs on easy runs, aches and niggles that appear from nowhere, restlessness, poor sleep in the last night or two, and a conviction that fitness is draining away. These are normal and usually pass by race morning. A bad run in taper week says nothing about how the race will go.
Common mistakes
- Cramming missed training. If illness or work cost you a long run, let it go. Squeezing it into the taper costs more than it gives.
- Testing your fitness. A hard time trial a few days out uses up the freshness you are trying to build.
- Stopping completely. A full week of no running often leaves people feeling stiff and stale.
- Filling the spare time with other effort. Digging the garden, long hikes and heavy gym sessions are still fatigue.
- Trying something new. New shoes, new foods and new stretching routines belong after the race.
Eating, drinking and sleeping
You are running less, so you may feel less hungry. Eat normally for most of the taper. Before a half marathon or marathon, shift meals towards carbohydrate such as rice, pasta, potatoes and bread for the final two days, without greatly increasing how much you eat overall. Stick to familiar food. Drink enough that you are not thirsty, and no more.
Sleep matters most two and three nights before the race. Nerves often disturb the final night, and one poor night has little effect if the ones before it were good.
Use the time to get organised
The hours you are not running are useful for planning. Decide on your pacing and print a pace band. Check your travel and start time. Lay out your race day kit two days ahead so there is time to replace anything missing, and work through the race day checklist the evening before.