One of the most counterintuitive aspects of race preparation is the taper—the period before your race when you deliberately reduce training volume and intensity. For many runners, especially those new to the sport, this concept feels wrong. The logic seems to suggest that more training equals better preparation, so reducing workouts as the race approaches appears to be slacking off exactly when you should be working hardest. However, understanding the science behind tapering reveals why this rest period is actually when your body converts months of training into race-day fitness.
During training, you’re constantly creating small amounts of damage to your muscles and stressing your cardiovascular system. This stress is productive—your body responds by adapting and becoming stronger—but only during the recovery periods between workouts. Training without adequate recovery leads to accumulated fatigue, declining performance, and increased injury risk. The taper period provides an extended recovery window that allows your body to fully repair and adapt to all the training stress you’ve accumulated, essentially letting the fitness gains “set” properly before you put them to the test.
The specific taper protocol depends on your race distance and training volume, but for most recreational runners, reducing workout frequency and intensity in the final week is appropriate. Two days before the race, limit yourself to a short, easy run and some gentle stretching—nothing that creates significant fatigue. The day immediately before the race should be complete rest, allowing your muscles to fully recover and your energy stores to reach maximum capacity. This might feel strange if you’re accustomed to daily running, but trust that the rest is serving an important purpose.
Many runners make the mistake of continuing hard workouts right up until race day, believing they need to maintain their fitness or make up for missed training sessions earlier in their preparation. This approach backfires by leaving you tired and depleted when you should be fresh and energized. The fitness you’ve built over weeks or months of training doesn’t disappear in a few days of rest—in fact, short-term rest allows that fitness to fully express itself. The strength and endurance are already there; tapering simply removes the fatigue that was masking your true capabilities.
Mental confidence can be challenged during the taper period as well. Without the reassurance of daily hard training, some runners become anxious and question whether they’re prepared. This anxiety sometimes leads to last-minute panic workouts that do more harm than good. Combat this by remembering that your preparation happened during the months of training; the final week isn’t about building fitness but about arriving at the starting line rested and ready to access the fitness you’ve already built. Trust the process, embrace the rest, and recognize that doing less in these final days is actually the smartest way to ensure you perform your best when it matters most.
2