Managing the Mindset: Navigating the Taper Tantrum.

The taper. It’s one of the most misunderstood, anxiety-inducing, yet crucial phases in a marathon build. I’ve seen it unravel athletes — and I’ve fallen into its traps myself. Despite racing at a high level, I’ve stood on the start line feeling flat, not because I didn’t train hard enough, but because I didn’t trust the taper.

More than once, I’ve chased that “final bit of fitness,” thrown in an unnecessary tempo or sneaky extra miles, and paid for it on race day. If you’re feeling that same temptation right now, know this: you're not alone — and you're not helping yourself.

Why the Taper Feels So Wrong — and Why It’s Exactly What You Need
Physiologically, tapering works. Meta-analyses by Bosquet et al. (2007) and more recently by Pujol et al. (2021) show that a well-executed taper can improve endurance performance by 2–3%. That’s significant. The key is reducing volume while maintaining intensity — not slamming the brakes entirely, but easing off the gas.

But the psychological shift? That’s the tricky part.

Studies in The International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching (Meeusen et al., 2013) highlight how tapering often leads to increased mood disturbances, heightened perceived fatigue, and even reduced confidence — precisely when athletes expect to feel their sharpest.

In other words: you might feel worse before you feel better. That’s normal.

Even Olympic champions have battled taper demons. Take Eliud Kipchoge, who describes his taper mindset as “trusting the process and staying patient” — even when he feels sluggish. In a 2019 interview, he admitted that the taper weeks are when he leans most on self-belief, journaling and meditation to steady his mind.

Meanwhile, Shalane Flanagan has been candid about taper-week irritability, joking in Runner’s World that she becomes “a bit of a diva” before race day. Her advice? Routine and distraction. She fills her time with cooking, yoga, and “not thinking about running every second.”

Science backs this up. According to Weinberg & Gould (2015), engaging in non-running activities like visualization, mindfulness, and light social interaction can reduce performance anxiety and help restore mental balance during taper.

From Personal Experience: Trust vs. Temptation
In January this year, I was building into an important race.  Training was consistent, volume was high, and fitness was right where I wanted it. But in the final 10 days, I second-guessed the process. I added an extra session — nothing crazy, but just enough to tip the balance. On race day, I was flat. I hadn’t lost fitness, I’d lost freshness.

In contrast, my best races — my 65:22 HM in October— came when I fully committed to the taper. I stopped “proving” fitness to myself and those in strava. I replaced worry with structure, reflection, and belief. It made all the difference.

Strategies for a Focused, Fresh Mindset
1. Reframe Rest as Work
The taper isn’t a passive phase — it’s the most purposeful part of your training. You’re not “doing nothing.” You’re absorbing weeks of work and setting the stage for optimal performance.

2. Maintain Intensity, Cut Volume
Keep some pop in the legs. Short intervals, strides, and light race-pace efforts maintain neuromuscular sharpness. But volume must drop.

3. Replace Physical Stress with Mental Reps
I use visualisation heavily during taper. Rehearsing race day — the routine, the early miles, the late grind — helps calm my mind and reinforces self-trust. Not being scared of pain when it ultimately arrives, but recognising that you will feel bad at mile 22 in a marathon and expecting it. I also encourage athletes I coach to revisit training logs. See the consistency. See the progress. You don’t need to do more — the work is done.

4. Expect the Wobble.

Feeling sluggish, questioning everything, and even getting phantom niggles? That’s the taper talking. Anticipating these feelings makes them easier to manage. As I tell athletes: if you don’t feel off during taper, you probably haven’t trained hard enough.

5. Protect Your Confidence:

Avoid comparing your taper to others’.
Don’t “test” yourself with surprise workouts.
Stick to the plan — even when it feels too easy.

Final Thoughts
Tapering isn’t about holding back. It’s about releasing your potential. That requires discipline, not just to train hard, but to rest smart. The science supports it. The elites practise it. And from experience, I can tell you: the biggest gains in taper come not from doing more, but from doing less, with confidence.

This final stretch isn’t about proving your fitness. It’s about letting it shine.

So back yourself. Be brave enough to ease off. And remember — your best performance doesn’t come from grinding through the taper… it comes from trusting you’ve already done the hard work.
Enjoy race day. It’s a chance to show off all your hard work.

Cal Davidson
Run Coach
Peak Performance Endurance Coaching.