Episode 15 - Tapering - Why Doing Less Gets You Faster

Tapering is not about resting, it’s about absorbing the training you’ve already done. After weeks or months of building fatigue through long runs and hard sessions, your body needs time to recover and convert that work into performance. Without a proper taper, you arrive at the start line carrying fatigue instead of fitness.

The goal of tapering is simple: reduce fatigue while maintaining fitness. This is done by lowering overall volume (typically over 2–3 weeks for ultras) while keeping some short, controlled intensity to preserve sharpness and running economy especially important for technical trail terrain.

Runners often make two key mistakes: doing too much (trying to “top up” fitness) or doing too little (losing rhythm and feeling flat). It’s also common to feel worse during the taper—heavy legs, low energy, or doubt—but this is a normal part of the process as the body shifts into performance mode.

The key is to trust the taper, maintain consistency with reduced load, prioritise recovery, and avoid unnecessary changes.

You don’t gain fitness in the final weeks, you allow it to show.

• Inigo Mujika & Sabino Padilla (2003) “Scientific bases for precompetition tapering strategies” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
• Inigo Mujika (2010) “Intense training: the key to optimal performance before and during the taper” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
• Thomas D. Bosquet et al. (2007) “Effect of tapering on performance: a meta-analysis” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise →
• David C. Nieman (1998, 2000) Research on immune function and recovery
• Asker Jeukendrup Multiple publications on endurance performance
• Timothy Noakes (2012) “Lore of Running”
• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM Guidelines)
• NSCA Essentials of Strength Training & Conditioning