Want to peak perfectly on Comrades race day? Heed the laws of tapering

Only weeks away from the 10 June start, it’s time to start tapering and Team Vitality Ambassador, Bruce Fordyce and Sports Physician and advisor to Discovery Vitality, Dr Jon Patricios share game-changing insight into the slow glide that is tapering towards Comrades race day. Done correctly, the taper is pinnacle of training.

Every year on the day before the Comrades Marathon, Fordyce looks out of the window of his Durban hotel room to the streets below in astonishment. “I see people there to complete 90-odd kilometres the next morning, running up and down and think what are you doing?”. Fordyce’s record of nine South African Comrades Marathon victories has earned him the right to say, “Marathon runners are some of the most intelligent and interesting people you could hope to meet but they are also capable of the stupidest decisions when it comes to their training.”

Taper terror

Fordyce daily meets runners terrified of reducing their training mileage and intensity. “In early May, when they should be tapering they suddenly become very stressed about runs they missed to recover from a February flu, or March injury and they up their mileage. This is directly the wrong approach to the final three to four weeks before Comrades,” says Fordyce. Runners also worry they will get fat and lose fitness if they cut their running down. “You cannot drive home enough that this will not happen,” emphasises Fordyce. “You won’t pick up weight and if you pick up flu or any injuries don’t try to get in extra runs later. Get more rest. You also only lose fitness after two weeks of no running.” Dr Patricios agrees and explains why: “If the build-up load has been sufficient, maximal oxygen up-take, peak blood lactate concentrations, left ventricular mass and exercise to exhaustion are preserved during the tapering period.”

Runners must remember that the positive physiological adaptations of running occur during the recovery periods rather than the high load days. “By the time they start tapering, athletes should have achieved the expected physiological adaptations that come from at least 10 weeks of sustained training at variable volumes and intensities, with recovery and rest days,” explains Dr Patricios. “As accumulated fatigue fades we see improved performance levels as performance-enhancing adaptations become apparent.” Patricios emphasises that tapering means a significant reduction in training volume in the three weeks before the race, so going from 60-90% with complete rest on the days leading into the event. “Importantly, the maintenance of training intensity through what we call ‘quality training’ is necessary to avoid detraining, provided that reductions in the other training variables allow for sufficient recovery to optimise performance,” he adds

Taper like Fordyce – a look back at his old training diaries

Eleven successive years of Comrades marathons saw Fordyce place third in 1979, second in 1980 and then win nine Comrades Marathons thereafter (eight consecutive wins between 1981 and 1988, and another in 1990). During that time, Fordyce changed neither his training programme nor his approach.

“Months of training make you very fit. But, you’re also tired and blown away from it all. Tapering is the final process in perfecting your race. And, it’s called tapering because you don’t just stop with a bang. You gradually reduce your training in a glide path down towards race day,” says Fordyce.

The first sign of the taper period is that the Sunday long-run distance drops drastically. Where runners were doing up to 60km in one session just weeks ago, they are now suddenly down to 20km. “Then, say you were doing 100km of training every week before tapering began. Three weeks before Comrades you go to 80km a week and 60km the following week. Those aiming for a Comrades finish only are doing about one third of the training being done by a silver or gold medal finisher who will often train twice a day to make up the distances needed. But the principle of reducing your mileage in this way remains,” explains Fordyce.

Looking back at his old training diaries Fordyce, who was trying to win the race, notes that after the first week or 10 days of May 1983, he slashed his weekly training mileage drastically, dropping from 180km a week to 120km, then 80km and, finally, to a few easy runs in the week before the race. His final training week for May 1983 followed a pattern that varied little for over a decade:

• Sunday: a steady 15-20km
• Monday: an easy 8km
• Tuesday: an easy 5km
• Thursday: no run
• Friday: no run (make time to take a very good look at the route)
• Saturday: no run
• Sunday: Comrades Marathon 1st place in 5:30:12

Go into Comrades slightly overweight and slightly undertrained

“You can do one or two short but fast runs like a hard 10km or 8km time trial during week three or week two before the race,” explains Fordyce. “During tapering, when you’re undecided as to whether to run 15km or 10km, do an 8km run instead. If you’re wondering whether to do a 40km or 25km long run on a Sunday, do 15km. Undercut yourself every time,” he adds. “Allow your running levels to go from reduced to pathetic in the last week and to zero in the last three days before the race. This is key – no training for three days before the race,” he explains. Fordyce has nothing against the advice by some triathlete coaches to add in a bit of swimming or cycling in the week before the marathon. “But, why risk an injury? I believe the best training for a race is running and then total rest. I’m old school. You cross train to maintain fitness when you are injured and when you cannot run. Before the marathon, just reward your body with rest.”