The taper is where marathons are won

After months of building, the instinct is to keep pushing. The taper asks you to do the opposite — and it's one of the most evidence-backed things in endurance sport.

Done well, a taper sheds fatigue while holding onto fitness. Volume comes down, but a little intensity stays so the legs don't forget how to run fast. You arrive on the start line fresh, not flat.

Done badly — too short, too gentle, or skipped entirely — you toe the line carrying the tiredness of your biggest weeks. Every Marathon Clinic plan builds the taper in deliberately, because the last three weeks decide more than the runner often realises.