MARATHON TAPER CAPER

It can be the hardest part of marathon training, but get your taper right and you could be in for ashiny new PB!

WORDS: TINA CHANTREY

“LET YOUR BODY RECOVER AND FRESHEN UP BEFORE THE BIG DAY

You may be just about to run your marathon this year, or have already done it. Either way, get your taper right and those race-day photos will be full of smiles. Get it wrong, and you’ll be wishing the photographer had never said ‘cheese’.

Why do we taper? Understanding a little physiology may help. Training puts stress on the body and the muscles, causing fatigue. When you rest, these muscles have a chance to recover. After stressing your body through training, it attempts to rebuild muscles a little stronger so they can keep coping with the new workload. Having adequate rest so our bodies can adapt is key; not enough rest and over-training, illness and injury occur.

Tapering will ensure that both body and mind have experienced a reduction in the intensity and duration of running. By feeling fresh on race day, you will be ready to ‘peak’. “This should be your only focus for the taper period,” says Amy Whitehead, an elite marathon runner, who competed in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and is the cofounder of the women’s specialist running website runningfeat.co.uk. “Avoid doing anything that will not aid you in feeling refreshed and marathon ready.”