How to craft the perfect taper
How to craft the perfect race taper and improve performance by 2-3%
Tapering is a strategic reduction in training load that allows your body to recover, adapt (maintain or increase aerobic capacity), and ultimately deliver peak performance on race day. The concept is simple: cut back on volume, maintain frequency and intensity.
Why Taper?
When you train hard over weeks or months, your body accumulates both fitness and fatigue. A well-planned taper allows your muscles, connective tissues, and central nervous system to repair and super-compensate. There’s really good evidence (see the systemic review and meta analysis in the refs!) that tapering can improve performance significantly. Research has shown that a well-conducted taper reduces markers of stress like creatine kinase and cortisol in the blood while testosterone, blood volume, haemoglobin all increase.
Crafting Your Taper
The most effective tapers include
Super compensation before taper (only suitable for athletes not prone to injury or burnout)
Start 8-14 days before race day
Decrease volume 41-60% (more closer to race day)
Maintain consistency
Maintain intensity
Remember that a successful taper isn’t one-size-fits-all. Both the longterm and short-term training history are important, and the volume of training pre-taper might also be relevant; an athlete running 3-4hrs a week may need a smaller volume decrease than one clocking 8hrs+, and an athlete who has missed training through injury or illness may benefit from a shorter taper so long as neither has led to increased fatigue. Conversations with athletes around levels of fatigue (physical and psychological) are important in determining the length of the taper. The decision to use super-compensation (an extra heavy 7-10 days of training before a 10-14 day taper) should be carefully weighed by coach and athlete together. Athletes without an experienced and knowledgable coach should avoid super compensation.
Ultimately, tapering is about finding the sweet spot between rest and readiness. It’s a science-backed approach that, when executed correctly, can deliver performance improvements of 2–3%, a margin that often makes the difference between a good race and a great one.
Embrace the tapering phase as an integral part of your training cycle, a period to trust in the process, and allow your body to prepare for optimal performance.
For science-backed, compassionate coaching join Ultra Potential
References (excellent systemic review and meta-analysis in bold)
Child RB, Wilkinson DM, Fallowfield JL. Effects of a training taper on tissue damage indices, serum antioxidant capacity and half-marathon running performance. Int J Sports Med, 2000; 21(5): 325–31. pmid:10950440
Costa P, Simão R, Perez A, Gama M, Lanchtermacher R, Musialowski R, et al. A randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of undulatory, staggered, and linear load manipulations in aerobic training on oxygen supply, muscle injury, and metabolism in male recreational runners. Sports Med Open. 2019;5(1):1–20. pmid:31332593
Mujika I, Goya A, Ruiz E, Grijalba A, Santisteban J, Padilla S. Physiological and performance responses to a 6-day taper in middle-distance runners: influence of training frequency. Int J Sports Med. 2002;23(5):367–73. pmid:12165889
Zehsaz F, Azarbaijani M A, Farhangimaleki N, Tiidus P. Effect of tapering period on plasma hormone concentrations, mood state, and performance of elite male cyclists. Eur J Sport Sci, 2011;11(3): 183–190.
Wang Z, Wang Y“, Gao W, Zhong Y (2023) Effects of tapering on performance in endurance athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0282838. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282838