Marathon Taper: What is it and how do I do it?

INTRODUCTION: WELCOME TO THE MARATHON TAPER

Imagine, It’s now just three weeks until your marathon, which means the hard work has been done, and its now time to start your taper so that you are feeling fresh and raring to go on race day

But whilst some of you might be breathing a sigh of relief that the finish line is almost in sight, I also know that it can be a tough time for a lot of runners – our minds can go into overdrive, anxiety is sky high and it can feel like all our hard work over the last few months is slipping through our fingers (spoiler alert, it isn’t).

So with that in mind I wanted to share my top tips on how to make these next few weeks feel a bit easier, and ensure you go into race day feeling your best.

WHAT IS A MARATHON TAPER?

Firstly, for those that don’t know, the taper is that final period ahead of your race where your training load starts to reduce, both in volume and intensity.

This essentially means that those long runs will start to get shorter (you know you have reached ‘that’ stage of marathon training where 10 miles feels like a short run) and also reducing the intensity of your speed workouts, although it is still important to keep some intensity in there.

The reason we do this is basically to allow your body to adapt to all of the training you have been doing over the last few months. But not only that;

• It allows your muscles, joints and ligaments to repair and recover so you have fresh legs for race day.
• It allows your body to replenish your energy stores, so you can go into race week with a full tank and raring to go.
• And perhaps most importantly it allows you to mentally recharge before your race. Marathon training is hard work, and juggling that alongside every day life can be really tough. So the taper is the perfect way to take a bit of a step back and go into the event with a clear mind.

REST IS BEST—AND THAT’S A HARD TRUTH FOR RUNNERS

The taper is not a time to be taking risks – if you are not feeling 100%, whether its a niggle that has cropped up, or perhaps you are feeling under the weather, I can’t stress this enough, at this stage of marathon training, rest really is best.

I can promise you, there is absolutely no point in pushing yourself over the next few weeks to get the miles in – the work has been done, and nothing you do now will have any real impact on your fitness for race day, but pushing yourself when you really should be resting could have a negative impact.

And do you know what, even if there is ‘nothing wrong’ but perhaps there is a day where you just feel exhausted, guess what – rest is best here too. If you are feeling more tired than usual, this is usually your bodies way of telling you to take a step back, before it forces you to, so it’s always best to listen to it.

Also, if you are managing a bit of a niggle, it is the perfect time to switch out pounding the pavement to using a bike or cross trainer to keep yourself ticking over, whilst not putting any additional load through your body.

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE RUNNING

Now I know for a lot of you, training for a marathon is more than enough to keep you busy, but if you are someone who also does other training outside of running, then guess what – you need to factor this into your taper too.

For example if you are someone who does a lot of strength training, as we get closer to race day you need to take the same approach with this. Start to reduce the volume – so whether that is the number of reps or sets, and then gradually start to decrease the intensity (weight) too.

The last thing you want heading into the marathon is DOMs (delayed onset muscle soreness), in fact by the time we get to race week I would suggest just focusing on bodyweight and mobility exercises.And if you need any more reason to do this, perhaps you can learn from my mistake.

I ended up injuring myself two weeks before the marathon last year from pushing a heavy sled in the gym, which resulted in me having to pull out of the marathon. A mistake I certainly won’t be making this year, that’s for sure.

RECONNECT WITH LIFE OUTSIDE THE MARATHON

Marathon training is not easy, and chances are over the last few months you have had to make a few sacrifices to make sure you can fit in the training, so now that your training load is reducing, it’s the perfect time to make time for those things that perhaps you weren’t able to do before.

And these don’t need to be big events, it could be something as simple as not having to set an early alarm on a Sunday morning, or being able to join your friends for a coffee after parkrun instead of having to go and round up your mileage. Or perhaps it means actually being able to go out in the evening because you’re not exhausted and in bed by 8pm every day (although, personally I love an 8pm bedtime).

Also, by doing things that fill your cup, it will also help you feel loads better mentally during this time and allow you to focus on other things outside of the marathon. And from my experience, going into the race feeling refreshed and relaxed is definitely the way to go, in fact some of my best ever race performances have been those where I have taken this approach.

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THIS EXTRA HEADSPACE

Ah yes, the mind games. With fewer runs to focus on, your brain suddenly has so much space to catastrophise.

You might find yourself:

• Replaying every missed session
• Obsessing over your pace
• Worrying about phantom injuries
• Googling “What happens if I forget how to run on race day?”

This is your brain on taper. It’s okay.

Here’s what I want you to do instead: focus on what you’ve done, not what you’ve missed.

Write down three runs you’re proud of from this training block. A long run that went surprisingly well. A speed session you nailed. That rainy Sunday you didn’t want to run—but did anyway.

Keep those runs in your pocket. You’ll need them, not just during the taper—but at mile 20 when you need to dig deep and remind yourself of just how far you’ve come.

HOW COOPAH BUILDS TAPERING INTO YOUR PLAN

At Coopah, tapering isn’t an afterthought. It’s baked into every training plan.

Your final weeks will:

• Gradually reduce mileage, so there’s no sudden drop-off
• Maintain some intensity to keep your legs feeling sharp
• Include built-in rest, recovery, and mobility work
• Come with coach check-ins to help you trust the process

And if the taper wobble hits? You can message a coach in the app any time for reassurance, tweaks, or just a friendly “you’ve got this.”

FINAL THOUGHT: TRUST THE TAPER

The marathon taper isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what’s needed. It’s about turning months of hard work into marathon-day magic.

So sleep well. Eat well. Move gently. Laugh lots. Trust your body. And remember: rest is part of the plan.

You’re not winding down. You’re powering up.

You’ve got this!

Coach Jordan x