5 Tapering Secrets to Crush Your Marathon or Half Marathon
The first point of Tapering is to Keep It Short & Sweet
You don’t need a month-long ‘Netflix-and-carb-load’ session.
A smart taper is short — around 10 - 14 days for most runners. Why?
Because your fitness is already locked in. Long tapers risk leaving you feeling flat.
Think of it like a loaf of bread — take it out too soon and it’s raw, leave it too long and it’s stale. The 10-day sweet spot? That’s your perfect, fresh-baked loaf. Yes, I just compared your legs to bread. And now I’m hungry.”
Heres a Quick Tip for this – make your Final hard longer style workout about 10 days out.
The 2nd point to Tapering is to Cut Miles, Not Days
Here’s the trap most runners fall into: they slash their running days instead of just trimming mileage. Bad idea.
Your body thrives on routine. Suddenly taking days off can make you feel sluggish and, let’s be honest… a little cranky.
So keep your usual training days — just run less.
If you normally do 12km on Wednesday, drop it to 7 or 8. If your Sunday long run is 30km, maybe make it 18–20. Easy math. Even for runners. (pause) Okay, especially for runners.”
Heres a Quick Tip for cutting miles and not days – keep the Same schedule ✔ Shorter runs ✔”
Moving onto Point 3 with tapering – Keep Some Speed in the Mix
This is where people panic: ‘I’m tapering, so I should only jog, right?’ - WRONG - If you cut all intensity, you risk showing up on race day with legs that feel like they’re still in their pyjamas.
Instead, keep a couple of short, sharp workouts in the early part of your taper — like strides, short tempo runs, or a few 400m repeats. These aren’t fitness builders anymore — they’re leg-wakers.
Think of them like your pre-race espresso shot… except with less risk of needing a porta-potty at kilometre 3.”
Now lets look at Point 4 – The Slow-Decay, Not Sudden Stop
Dropping from 80km a week to 20km overnight is like slamming on the brakes in the middle of the highway — your body will freak out.
Instead, taper like a dimmer switch.
Gradually reduce mileage over those last 2 to 3 weeks.
Week three before your race? Maybe 75% of your peak volume.
Week two before your race? Maybe 50% of your peak volume.
Race week? Around 20–30%.
This keeps your legs in rhythm without overloading them. It’s like telling your body, ‘We’re still running, we’re just… chilling.’
Now for the final Point - number 5 – Trust in the Process
“You’re not going to gain any more fitness during your taper.
The hay’s in the barn. The cake’s in the oven, or whatever metaphor works for you. The taper’s job is to let fatigue fade so your fitness can shine.
Trust the months of work you’ve done. Don’t second-guess it and suddenly cram in another big run.
That’s like studying all semester and then pulling an all-nighter before the exam — you’ll just be tired and cranky.
And probably eating cold pizza in your race kit at midnight.
No for my Bonus Tip on effective tapering – Activating the Recovery Mode
“Your biggest gains in taper week? Sleep, nutrition, and hydration.
Go to bed earlier. Drink more water & electrolytes than a camel at an all-you-can-drink buffet.
Eat balanced meals — yes, carbs matter, but no, you don’t need to shovel down 12 plates of pasta in one sitting.”
As a Running Form & Technique Coach, It is a passion of mine to take you on a transformational journey for you to become the best, confident & strongest runner you can be and by following the steps outlined in this video, you'll be able to start tapering for your next race correctly and see a huge improvement in how you feel before and during your next race.
So don’t forget, the 5 steps were:
Keep the taper Short & sweet
Keep the same training schedule, but cut mileage.
Keep a little speed in the mix.
Ease off gradually.
Trust the work you’ve done.
if Follow these steps, you’ll hit the start line feeling sharp, confident, and maybe even smiling — which, let’s be honest, will confuse your competition.