Half Marathon Taper: Tips to Make the Most of Your Taper Time

You’ve put in weeks of training for a half marathon and now it’s time to taper, which basically means backing down on mileage so you’re ready for race day. The half marathon taper is all about letting your body recover and rebuild, knocking out the fatigue you built up throughout the training cycle, so you feel strong and ready to take on 13.1 miles.

The half marathon taper comes with lots of benefits, including letting your muscle glycogen, nutrients, and hormones get back to optimal levels, along with repairing muscle damage that can occur from clocking all those miles. While it might seem like taking two weeks to decrease the time you spend running might ruin the fitness you built, it’s actually crucial for performing your best come race day.

While some runners will find it hard to scale back during the taper, others might find it hard to even get off the couch. But doing too much (or too little) during this critical period can compromise the recovery left on the schedule.

Fun Half Marathons resting, whether you’re training for your first or fastest 13.1, here’s what to know about making the most of your half marathon taper.

How to Taper for a Half Marathon

Two weeks out from race day:

This stretch is preceded by your final long run effort (probably 10 to 16 miles, depending on your plan) on Sunday.

During this week, keep weekday workouts to about 30 minutes (maybe a little longer if you’re doing an advanced plan to break a time goal). It’s fine to do some easy cross-training on non-running days, as long as the activity doesn’t make your muscles sore or have the potential to cause injury. If you don’t want to exercise on days you don’t run, that’s okay, too.

Depending on your training plan, you may just do a 45- to 60-minute run for your long run on the weekend (one week out from race day) or up to about eight miles. Embrace the single-digit mileage!

One week out from race day:

You will have conquered your final weekend run getting into this last week! And you’ll be cutting back on miles even more midweek—maybe adding another rest day training for a half marathon.

Think about chilling out or walking on those rest days and make sure to go at a low intensity on the easy run days. Those easy runs should make up all of your running this week, unless you’re doing an advanced plan and potentially have an interval workout left on the schedule.

If this is your first half, consider just running for 30 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday. Chill out or walk on Monday and Wednesday.

Two days out from race day:

Rest or run very easy for one to two miles.

Check the forecast, make a list, then pack your race bag. Include a garbage bag or rain jacket for bad weather at the start, the clothing and fuel you’ve tested on your long runs, race information, and a pacing chart or your run/walk/run timer if you’re following that method. Plan to get eight hours of sleep.

The day before your race:

Walk around the race expo or the staging area to get your bearings. Try to get decent rest, but don’t fret if you toss and turn and feel you didn’t get much sleep. That’s normal.

Most training plans will call for a shake out run the day before a race (a good thing to do if you rested the previous day). This should be super light on the effort scale and just about two miles.

The day of your race:

Arrive at least 90 minutes before the start. Walk around as a light warmup, then find your starting corral. Avoid crowding by staying near the back, especially if this is your first race and you don’t have a time goal.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below, Half Marathon Taper Tips That Will Boost Your Confidence at the Starting Line (slower than your goal pace). Pick it up a little in the last third of the race if you’re feeling good. Enjoy that final mile—you did it!