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Marathon Taper and Race Week
The taper is the last two or three weeks before a race, when you run less so your body can arrive fresh. It is the part of the plan where doing less really is the work. Here is how much to cut, what to keep, a day-by-day race week and how to turn your training into an even-paced race.
What the research says
A meta-analysis of 27 studies in competitive athletes found that the best taper lasted about two weeks, with training volume reduced by 41–60 %, while intensity and frequency were kept the same (Bosquet et al., 2007).
In plain words:
- Cut the distance, not the pace. Keep short bits at race pace so your legs remember it.
- Keep running on most of your usual days. Make each run shorter rather than skipping days.
- Step down week by week. In our plans each week of the taper is lighter than the one before.
Our marathon plans start the step-down three weeks out, with a smaller cut in the first week, so the big cut falls in the last two weeks. Our half marathon taper is shorter.
Marathon taper: how much to cut
Percentages are of your biggest training week.
| Week | Volume | Long run | Keep | Example: peak 64 km | Example: peak 40 mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 weeks to go | About 80 % | About 24 km (15 mi) | Marathon-pace block | 51 km | 32 mi |
| 2 weeks to go | About 55–60 % | About 16 km (10 mi) | Shorter marathon-pace block | 35–38 km | 22–24 mi |
| Race week | About 25–30 % before the race | None | Strides, a few minutes at race pace | 16–19 km + race | 10–12 mi + race |
The marathon plans on our sister site marathontraining.app, for example the 12 week plan and the sub-4 hour plan, follow this taper closely. The beginner marathon plan here on RunPerform uses a similar but steeper taper: about 75 %, 51 % and 20 % of the peak week before the race, with long runs of 21 km and 14 km.
Half marathon taper: 10 to 14 days
| Week | Volume | Long run | Keep | Example: peak 48 km | Example: peak 30 mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 weeks to go | About 70 % | About 14 km (8.5 mi) | A few km at half marathon pace | 34 km | 21 mi |
| Race week | About 30 % before the race | None | Strides | 14 km + race | 9 mi + race |
Our half marathon training plan finishes this way; the beginner half marathon plan is similar, with a slightly bigger cut.
Marathon race week, day by day
For a Sunday race. Move it all if your race is on another day.
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Rest |
| Tuesday | 6 km (3.5 mi) easy, with 2 km at marathon pace or 4 × 20 s strides |
| Wednesday | 6 km (3.5 mi) easy |
| Thursday | Rest |
| Friday | 5 km (3 mi) easy with 4 × 20 s strides |
| Saturday | Rest, or a 15-minute easy jog. Collect your race number, lay out your kit |
| Sunday | Race |
Nothing new in race week: no new shoes, no new gels, no new breakfast.
Carbohydrate loading
For events longer than 90 minutes, ACSM's position statement on nutrition suggests eating 10–12 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per day for the 36–48 hours before the race, and 1–4 g per kg in the 1–4 hours before the start (Thomas et al., 2016). For a 70 kg (154 lb) runner that is 700–840 g of carbohydrate a day: rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, oats, juice. Eat less fibre and fat for those two days so there is room for it. The guideline is for events longer than 90 minutes, which for most runners includes the half marathon.
During the race, the same statement suggests 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour for 1–2.5 hours and up to 90 g per hour beyond that. For fluids, drink to thirst rather than to a schedule (Hew-Butler et al., 2015).
Pacing the race
You have tapered so you feel fresh, and fresh legs make the first kilometres feel too easy. Stick to your plan. Even pace, or a very small negative split, is the safe choice for most runners.
- Your splits: marathon pace chart, half marathon pace chart or the marathon pace calculator on marathontraining.app.
- On your wrist: the pace band generator.
- Unsure of your goal? Check it with the race time predictor using a race from the last couple of months.
A quick check during the taper
Fresh is the goal, so watch the signs. If your sleep is short for several nights, your morning resting heart rate is clearly above its normal range, or you feel ill, drop that day's strides or marathon-pace block and just run easy, or rest. You cannot gain fitness in the final week, but you can arrive tired. How heart rate, HRV and sleep can steer training is explained on vo2max.io: recovery-guided marathon training.
If your legs feel heavy or restless during the taper, don't add extra running to "test" them. The plan already has enough race-pace running to keep you sharp.
Flemming, the coach behind RunPerform, plans tapers individually for the athletes he coaches, looking at their logged sessions, stress and sleep.
Print the taper
PDF (A4) / PDF (US Letter): the taper table for your peak week (enter your peak week in km or miles) and the race-week schedule on one page.
Questions and answers
How long should a marathon taper be?
Two to three weeks. A meta-analysis found about two weeks with a 41–60 % cut in volume gave the best results (Bosquet et al., 2007). Our marathon plans begin with a smaller cut three weeks out.
How much should I run in the last week before a marathon?
About a quarter to a third of your biggest week, in short easy runs with some strides. In our plans that is about 15–20 km (9–12 miles) before the race.
Should I keep doing speed work during the taper?
Yes, but less of it. Keeping intensity was part of the most effective tapers in the research. Short blocks at race pace and strides are enough.
When is the last long run before a marathon?
In our plans the last really long run (30–32 km, 18.5–20 miles) is three weeks before race day. Two weeks out the long run is about 16 km (10 miles).
How long is a half marathon taper?
About 10 to 14 days. Cut to about 70 % of your biggest week two weeks out, then run lightly in race week.
How do I carb load for a marathon?
ACSM suggests 10–12 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per day for the 36–48 hours before races longer than 90 minutes (Thomas et al., 2016). Practise it before a long run first.
Sources
- Bosquet, L., Montpetit, J., Arvisais, D. & Mujika, I. (2007). Effects of tapering on performance: a meta-analysis. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(8), 1358–1365. doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31806010e0
- Thomas, D. T., Erdman, K. A. & Burke, L. M. (2016). American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement: Nutrition and athletic performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 48(3), 543–568. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852
- Hew-Butler, T. et al. (2015). Statement of the Third International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Development Conference, Carlsbad, California, 2015. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 25(4), 303–320. doi:10.1097/JSM.0000000000000221
Related
- Training plans · Half marathon training plan · Pace band · Marathon pace chart
- On marathontraining.app: Marathon training plans · Marathon pace calculator
- On vo2max.io: Recovery-guided marathon training