It’s the most delicate and sometimes the most frustrating period: the time when you do less to run faster. The tapering phase marks the end of training and the start of performance.

After weeks of piling on hours and elevation gain, it’s now time to let your body absorb everything it’s learned. To reduce fatigue without losing rhythm. It’s a balancing act.

Understanding the Role of Tapering

Tapering isn’t rest it’s transformation. During this phase, training volume is reduced so the body can recover, regenerate, and supercompensate.

Studies show a proper taper can improve performance by an average of 3% a huge gain in the context of a race that lasts several hours.

The ideal duration is between 15 and 21 days, sometimes less for shorter races (10 days may be enough for a 20–30 km, three weeks for an ultra).

Too short, and your body won’t have time to absorb the work. Too long, and it becomes sluggish. A good taper keeps the fire burning without burning out the engine.

How to Cut Back Without Losing Fitness

The principle is simple: reduce volume, not intensity.

Keep the structure of previous weeks two quality sessions, easy runs, some light strength work — but shorten everything.

Total volume gradually decreases:

• 20% in the first week

• 40% in the second

• 60% in the final week

Easy runs get shorter, threshold workouts go from 3 × 15 min to 3 × 8 min, long runs drop from 4 hours to 2.

But intensity stays in the plan you keep running fast to stay sharp and responsive.

This combination maintained intensity, reduced volume is what triggers supercompensation.

You may feel heavy and tired at first… then suddenly everything clicks. Your legs feel fresh, your breathing smooth, your mind light. That’s the sign: you’re ready.

What the Last Weeks Look Like

For a 40 km trail, the classic taper plan spans three weeks:

• Week -3: 80% of usual volume. Wrap up your final big block with a few more intense but shorter sessions. A 3-hour long run is enough.

• Week -2: 60%. Keep one interval session, one hill workout, and a long run of 2 hours. Recovery days become as important as training sessions.

• Week -1: 40%. Easy jogs, smooth runs, mental prep. Light and dynamic workouts, never exhausting. The goal: arrive fresh, not fried.

For an ultra, the same logic applies with a longer taper: a full three-week cycle, starting with a solid week (4–5h long run), then gradually cutting volume down to 50% of your peak.

The Sessions to Keep

During tapering, you still work on the same qualities just in shorter form:

• Intervals or hill reps to maintain power, with fewer reps

• Easy endurance runs, about 70% of weekly volume, to keep the engine running

• A shortened long run, between 1.5 and 2 hours depending on your race

• A bit of cross-training or walking to promote recovery

• And above all: sleep, deep breathing, calm. This is when your body rebuilds

Don’t aim to improve during this phase aim to let your training turn into performance.

Adapting Based on Your Profile

If your schedule is tight, tapering is your best friend. Shorter sessions free up time to rest, eat well, and sleep better.

Just 20 minutes of effort is enough to keep your body sharp.

If you're an experienced athlete, you can keep slightly more volume (up to 60–70% of your peak week) to avoid feeling "flat."

And if you’re preparing for an ultra, ease off slowly your body takes longer to recover from large training loads.

In all cases, listen to how you feel. Tapering isn’t a formula it’s a dialogue between fatigue and form.

It’s as Mental as It Is Physical

This is also a mental phase.

As mileage drops, doubts rise. Some feel too good and want to "test their legs." Others panic at doing less. Resist.

This is when you build confidence.

Prep your gear, visualize the course, review your fueling strategy, rehearse your starting pace.

Your body sharpens. Your mind clears. Everything starts to click into place.

A Good Taper Makes You Eager

You should finish your taper with a burning desire to run. If you're a bit bored that’s a good sign: your body is recharging.

Tapering is the final climb before the summit. You may move slower, but you’re gaining power.

And on race day, when the start gun goes off, you’ll feel it: everything you’ve built over the past months will come alive in a single moment.