Tapering tips and good luck for your upcoming marathon!

Hi Reader,

The autumn marathon season has officially arrived!

I’m writing this on my way to the Sydney Marathon with a group of 70 UK runners for this weekend's race. It’s the newest of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, and the excitement is incredible.

The Marathon Majors have really taken off. As soon as I'm back from Sydney, I'll be in Berlin with 250 runners, and then it's on to New York with another 450. In between, we have 100 runners taking on the Chicago Marathon! It’s not just the Majors either; with big events like Valencia and top UK races like Yorkshire and Chester, our runners are getting ready for finish lines on roads and trails everywhere.

This means I’m writing the words ‘Taper Block’ in a lot of training plans right now.

I’ve understood the importance of tapering since I was a teenager. A head teacher once wrote on my school report, "Michael should avoid cramming in revision at the last minute as he does when running his races." It's an analogy I knew didn't quite work, as I was wise enough even then to taper my training before the English Schools track championships! My hardest sessions were always weeks before, perhaps when I should have been studying.

So, what is the taper all about? Essentially, it’s about giving your body time to repair the micro-trauma from hard training. This allows you to build energy reserves and helps you focus your mind for race day. A big part of it is preventing negatives, which means avoiding both doing too much and too little.

I’ve explained this in more detail in my latest blog post.

Read on for my bonus workout 👇

Here’s a bonus workout session just for you this week:

Looking to build your speed and unlock your next level of performance? A VO2 max session is one of the best ways to do it. Think of VO2 max as your body's ability to use oxygen during intense exercise - improving it helps you hold a faster pace for longer.

Here is a 45-minute session you can try this week to boost your running engine...

VO2 Max - A quick 45-minute session to build speed and endurance:

1. Warm-up (15 minutes) ​
   Start with 10 minutes of easy jogging, followed by 5 minutes of dynamic drills like high knees, butt kicks, and leg swings.
   ​
2. Main workout (20 minutes)
   This part is about running at a hard effort (around a 9 out of 10 intensity).
   ​
   • For beginner runners: Run hard for 2 minutes, then recover with 2 minutes of very slow jogging or walking. Repeat this 6 times.
   ​
   • For advanced runners: Run at your 5k race pace for 4 minutes, then recover with 2 minutes of slow jogging. Repeat this 4 to 5 times.
   ​
3. Cool-down (10 minutes)
   ​Finish with 10 minutes of easy jogging, followed by some static stretching for your quads, hamstrings, and calves.

Incorporating a session like this every 7-10 days can make a huge difference to your fitness. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Let me know which marathon you are doing this soon?

Good luck with your big race this autumn.

Mike Gratton (Head Coach, Coach the Run)

p.s. Read my latest Ask the Coach blog:

​Should I use a negative split strategy in my races?​