The two weeks before a marathon: the taper

This period is called tapering. When managed properly, it allows you to arrive at the starting line fresh, rested, and ready to perform at your full potential. When mismanaged, it can ruin months of preparation. Here’s how to approach these two crucial weeks, day by day, without falling into the classic pitfalls.

What does Taping do and why does it work?

Taping is a gradual reduction in training volume in the weeks leading up to a major competition. The goal isn’t to lose your fitness, but to let your body fully recover from the accumulated fatigue caused by months of intense training.

The principle is based on what’s known as supercompensation. During your preparation, every long run and every interval session causes micro-damage to your muscles, depletes your glycogen stores, and puts a strain on your nervous system. You train in a state of chronic fatigue, which masks your true fitness level. By reducing the training load, you finally give your body time to repair tissues, replenish energy stores, and reinforce the adaptations you’ve made. The result: you get stronger while you rest.

Studies on the subject are fairly unanimous. A well-executed taper can improve performance by 2 to 6 percent, which, over a marathon, can amount to several minutes. For a runner aiming for 3:30, a 3 percent improvement corresponds to about six minutes. That’s an offer you can’t refuse.

Reduce volume, maintain intensity

The golden rule of taper can be summed up in one sentence: cut back on mileage, but maintain your pace. Many runners make the mistake of thinking they need to slow everything down. On the contrary, maintaining a bit of intensity signals to your body to hold onto its adaptations and keeps you sharp.

Here’s how to break down the reduction:

• Reduce your total weekly mileage by 40 to 60% compared to your heaviest week, over a period of two to three weeks.
• Focus on reducing the number of kilometres, not the number of runs. It’s better to run often and for short distances than rarely and for long distances.
• Include short segments at marathon pace or slightly faster—for example, 3 or 4 kilometres at your target pace—to keep your legs responsive.
• Don’t replace running with long cycling sessions or intense strength training: tapering is about overall fatigue, not just running-specific fatigue.

If your marathon training plan was well-designed, it already includes this gradual tapering. Trust it and resist the urge to add more.

The final long run

Your longest run—one that approaches or exceeds 30 kilometres—should take place three weeks before the marathon, no later. This is the last major stimulus your body needs, and you must give it ample time to recover.

Two weeks before the race, you can still do a long run, but it should be significantly shorter: 18 to 24 kilometres at an easy pace is sufficient. The weekend immediately before the marathon, limit yourself to 12 to 16 kilometres at a relaxed pace. The goal is no longer to build up, but to maintain. Every additional kilometre at this stage adds fatigue without providing any benefit for race day.

The final week, day by day

Here’s a sample schedule for the final week, assuming the marathon is on Sunday. Adjust it to fit your situation, but the logic remains the same: low volume, a touch of intensity early in the week, then rest.

• Monday: Complete rest or a very easy 30-minute run. Your body is still recovering from the weekend’s run.
• Tuesday: 6 to 8 km with a few short sprints, for example, 4 to 6 sets of 100 metres at a good pace. Nothing exhausting, just enough to wake up your legs.
• Wednesday: 5 to 6 km at an easy pace, or rest if you’re feeling tired.
• Thursday: 5 km, including 2 to 3 km at marathon pace to get your legs used to the rhythm.
• Friday: Complete rest. This is the time to prepare your gear and logistics.
• Saturday: 20 to 30 minutes of very easy running with a few sprints, just to stay relaxed. Some prefer a complete rest day—both approaches work.
• Sunday: Race day. You’re ready.

Carbohydrate loading

Your muscles store energy as glycogen, and your reserves are limited: they typically run out around the 30-kilometre mark—the infamous “marathon wall.” Carbohydrate loading aims to maximize these reserves before the race.

There’s no need for the extreme 1970s method with its deprivation phase. The modern approach is simple: during the two or three days leading up to the race, increase the proportion of carbohydrates in your diet to about 8 to 10 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. Since you’re running less during taper week, you burn less energy, which helps replenish your reserves.

• Choose easily digestible sources: rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, oatmeal, and bananas.
• Cut back slightly on fibre, fat, and heavy proteins during the last two days to avoid digestive discomfort.
• Drink enough water: glycogen is stored with water, so staying well-hydrated helps the process.
• Don’t eat until you feel uncomfortable. Carbohydrate loading doesn’t mean stuffing yourself.

To learn more about nutrition before, during, and after exercise, check out our comprehensive guide to runner nutrition.

Sleep: your best ally

If there’s one secret to race-day readiness, it’s taper. It’s while you sleep that your body repairs tissues and consolidates adaptations. Aim to get plenty of quality sleep throughout the two weeks leading up to the race, not just the night before.

This is important because it’s common to sleep poorly the night before a marathon—due to nervousness, waking up very early, or adrenaline. That one bad night won’t have a real impact on your performance if the nights leading up to it were good. It’s the sleep you get on days 3, 4, and 5 before the race that matters most. Make it a priority from the very start of your taper.

Managing stress and heavy legs

During taper, almost everyone goes through a strange phase where their legs feel heavy, stiff, and sometimes even painful. This is sometimes called “taper legs.” Rest assured: it’s perfectly normal and isn’t a sign of poor fitness.

This phenomenon is caused by a sudden change in training load. Your body, accustomed to a significant daily stimulus, reacts to the drop in activity. Your muscles begin a deep repair process and may feel a bit odd. It’ll pass—often just in time for the race.

Mentally, the taper can also play tricks on you. With less running, you tend to overthink, doubt yourself, and scrutinize every little sensation. Here are a few pointers:

• Accept that doubt is part of the process. Almost all marathoners go through it.
• Resist the urge to test your fitness with a last-minute speed workout. It proves nothing and just adds fatigue.
• Keep your mind occupied: prepare your race plan, visualize the course, and review your goals.
• A little soreness or an unusual sensation is almost always harmless. The body sends strange signals when it’s recovering.

What to eat the day before

The day before the race, you should have your main meal at dinner or early in the evening—not too late—to allow time for digestion. Opt for a meal that’s high in carbohydrates, moderate in fat and protein, and nothing out of the ordinary.

• A tried-and-true classic: pasta with a simple tomato sauce, a little chicken or Parmesan cheese, and bread.
• Avoid new foods, very spicy foods, very fatty foods, or foods very high in fibre at all costs.
• Don’t drink alcohol: it interferes with sleep and hydration.
• Prepare a small snack for the morning and keep water within reach.

The golden rule: nothing new the night before or on the morning of the race. Eat what you’ve already tested during your long runs.

Race-Day morning logistics

A successful marathon also depends on the details of the final morning. Reduce stress by planning everything in advance:

• Lay out your clothes, race bib, safety pins, energy gels, and watch the night before.
• Eat breakfast 2½ to 3 hours before the start: something familiar and high in carbohydrates, like toast with peanut butter and a banana, or oatmeal.
• Arrive early at the venue to avoid the last-minute rush for parking, restrooms, and long lines.
• Dress for Québec weather, which can be chilly at the start. An old T-shirt to toss aside at the starting gun is a valuable tip for chilly mornings.
• Plan to use the restroom early, as lines grow quickly before the start.

Common mistakes to avoid

Taping for the race seems simple, but that’s exactly where many runners go wrong. Here are the most common pitfalls:

• Overdoing it: adding more workouts or mileage out of fear of losing your fitness. You won’t lose anything during two weeks of relative rest. You’ll only add unnecessary fatigue.
• Resting too much: completely stopping all running for two weeks. Total rest makes your legs feel sluggish and leaves you with a heavy feeling. Keep up short runs with some intensity.
• Testing new gear: new shoes, different socks, a new brand of gel. Marathon day is never the time to try anything new. Everything must be broken in.
• Radically changing your diet: a poorly managed carb load or unfamiliar foods can cause digestive issues. Stick to what you know.
• Starting too fast on race day: Rest gives you a boost, and you feel invincible at the start. Control your pace during the first few kilometres; otherwise, the taper will have been for nothing.

Conclusion

Taper is the art of trusting the work you’ve already done. After months of discipline, these last two weeks are all about letting go, resting, and allowing your body to reveal the fitness you’ve patiently built up. Cut back on mileage, maintain some intensity, get plenty of sleep, eat what you’re used to, and avoid last-minute experiments. The rest will fall into place at the starting line.

Ready to put this advice into practice? Check out the race calendar in Québec to find your next marathon and turn all that hard work into a well-deserved race bib. You can also find all the marathons in Québec to plan your season. Have a great race!