You’ve put in weeks (months!) of hard work, and race week is finally here. You want to get the most out of yourself, and you know the taper matters…but what does an effective taper actually look like?

While the details vary from athlete to athlete (and should be individualized), there are key principles that underpin a successful taper. Here are a few tips and concepts you can apply to your own race-week plan.

Principle 1: Do Less, But Don’t Stop

Some athletes fall into the trap of continuing to push hard right up until race day, convinced they’ll squeeze out a little more fitness or prove to themselves they’ve “still got it.” Others swing too far in the opposite direction and rest more than necessary. A successful taper is about finding the balance between the two.

By roughly 7–10 days before your race, you’re generally no longer building meaningful new fitness. As the saying goes, the hay is in the barn. The focus now shifts from gaining fitness to shedding fatigue while maintaining the adaptations you’ve already worked so hard to build.

Think along the lines of a recovery week in terms of reducing volume: doing enough to maintain an aerobic stimulus (and minimize any fitness losses), while doing little enough to leave you feeling fresh and energized, both physically and mentally, by race day.

A taper week should consist mostly of frequent, shorter aerobic sessions (maintaining frequency while reducing duration). As for intensity, you’ll want to sprinkle in a few short sharpening efforts, reminding your body what race pace and faster efforts feel like, but nothing that causes lingering fatigue. Again, it’s a primer, not an attempt to push yourself to new levels of fitness.

Takeaway: You’re not going to get fitter (so don’t push hard), but don’t stop completely either. Maintain enough training to preserve the fitness you’ve worked so hard to build while arriving at the start line feeling fresh.

Principle 2: The Right Taper Depends on Your Training and Your Season Plans

As much as we often crave exact guidance, the right taper also needs to consider your training, the build you’ve had into the event, and your broader season plan.

If this is your A race, it generally warrants a larger taper, as the benefit of freshness can outweigh the risk of fitness loss. However, if it’s one race within a series building toward a bigger goal later in the season, maintaining longer-term fitness becomes increasingly important.

I was recently chatting with an Olympic triathlon coach who described tapering his athletes from 25 hours per week down to 15 hours. After a handful of back-to-back draft-legal events, they had lost measurable fitness, reflected in declines in VO₂ max and lactate values.

His approach has since shifted to smaller tapers apart from the most important races of the year. While this matters far less for those of us racing infrequently, if you love standing on plenty of start lines, it’s something to consider!

Beyond your season schedule, your level of fitness and the quality of your build also matter. A consistent, well-executed training block often warrants a slightly more generous taper because both fitness and accumulated fatigue are higher.

Takeaway: Consider the bigger picture of your fitness, your training build, and your race calendar when designing your taper.

Principle 3: Mindset (the Psychological Side) Matters Too

Last but not least, the psychological side matters.

Especially in the final 24–48 hours before race day, when your calendar should consist of little more than light activation sessions, there is room for personal preference.

You’re no longer gaining fitness at this point. So whether you do a light spin, an easy swim, or simply rest, considering what makes you feel the best matters too.

Takeaway: As you gain race experience, pay attention to what leaves you feeling your best on race day and carry those lessons forward. Happy racing.