2 Weeks to Go – Time to Taper

Ah the taper that period where your challenge is more mental than physical, where all the weeks and months of hard training come together, and you get yourself mentally and physically set for race day. What are the things you need to be aware of in the final two weeks to make sure you’re ready?

The taper is in simple terms a process of gradually cutting back training to allow your body to adapt to and absorb all those hard miles banked over recent months. It is also a period where you make those final logistical arrangements for race day and spend time getting your head ready for the challenge.

Your longest run should now be in the bank. Two weeks out you might reduce to 1 hour 45 minutes with the final 30 minutes at your goal race pace, a week out down to 75 minutes or so, very easy and relaxed.

There is no value at all during these final two weeks in going out and running for longer just to prove to yourself you are ready. As it takes your body a minimum of 12+ days to accrue fitness from your training any big sessions now will likely leave your tired on race day or no additional gain. The hay, as they say, is in the barn – it is time to look after it.

The key to the taper is reducing your volume but keeping up the frequency of your running, so if you are out 3-4 times a week in a normal training week, you’d still be out 3-4 times a week in those final 2 weeks.

Look to cut down your time on feet though reducing your overall volumes by roughly 30% two weeks out and 50% in race week.

Some faster running still has value to prevent feeling ‘rusty’ on race day. Keep it specific though, the week before the race a parkrun at a ‘tempo’ effort (around a pace you could hold for an hour) can work very well and on the Tuesday of race week something really simple like 4 x 5 minutes with the first and third effort at marathon pace, the second and fourth a little faster with 2 minutes jog recovery.

More on how to prepare for the final week here and the final 24 hours here. 

Tom Craggs is England Event Lead for Long Distance Running and Runners World UK Head Coach. He is one of the UK’s most in demand coaches, coaching runners from beginners right through to GB elite athletes including some of the UK’s most well-known runners.