This week, Seán from AnyGivenRunday gives us his lowdown on the weeks leading us to Dublin Marathon. With less than three weeks to go... we hope it helps with the preparation for the big day 🏃

Less than three weeks until the Dublin Marathon, and the buzzword of the next few weeks is “taper”. For many people, the work is done, even though some of us still feel the urge to do more!

Some may feel that, because the work is done, they should pull right back on the sessions over the last few weeks, and now is the time to put their feet up completely. The long run went great, but your legs are feeling very fatigued after all your training, and you need this rest time.

Believe it or not, both approaches can be problematic. And I can relate to both.

It can be hard to pull back now at this stage. A lot of us may have run more than we ever have before. You’re in a good stride with your running, and there is a fear of losing that fitness and confidence in what you’ve built up by reducing your running over these three weeks. You want to build on the momentum.

Or maybe your recent longest effort didn't go as well as you hoped, so you need more fitness (even though one long run doesn't define a training block).

What you probably need is more rest… but you need to get the balance right.

The goal is to feel like we “peaked” when we get to the starting line of the Dublin Marathon. You should feel fresh, recovered, and eager to run. But it’s more than just feeling ready. 

A study on “Longer Disciplined Tapers Improve Marathon Performance for Recreational Runners” analysed more than 158,000 recreational marathon runners and found that a strict 3 week taper could mean over 5 minutes off your marathon time compared to a minimal taper.

While this could be represented as “you’ll get faster if you taper," I think of it as “you’ll be slower and more fatigued if you don’t.”

When people hear “taper”, they hear “rest.” Those two words are not interchangeable. Yes, it is a good idea to pull back the overall volume of your training right now. But now is not the time to spend three weeks on the couch and catch up on whatever TV series is most popular right now.

But you still need to keep the legs ticking over. You don’t want to feel like you haven’t run in three weeks at the start of your biggest run of the year.

So use this time to maintain and sharpen your fitness. Gradually bring down the mileage, but keep some of the sharper stuff in your training as opposed to drastically cutting your weekly mileage. It won’t be as demanding on the legs, but you’ll feel much better for it.

Pull back a little on your interval sessions so that they feel like a 6 or 7 out of 10 effort instead of an 8-9 out of 10 push. You should feel like you could’ve given more to the session, not that it was a test of your fitness.

Don’t drop your mileage from 30 plus km down to 10k on your long run. Maybe do a long run in the mid-20s and reduce it a little further the week before the marathon, listening to your body so you’re not fatigued. Recovery matters more than how far you run at this stage. If your long run was when you introduced marathon pace, you may be going a little slower than that. Keep your training structure similar and a little less intense.

The overall goal here is to feel better on race day and confident in the training you have done.

But taper is more than just a mileage reduction.

You need proper recovery. There’s now less time on the road, make the most of it.

Reduce stress. Prioritise sleep. Get good nutrition in.

Recovery is usually treated like rehab, only addressed when you are at your worst. However, just like you may have done with your running up until now, recovery needs to be a major part of the plan, not just an afterthought or when your legs are really sore after a hard session.

One of the best ways you can address the buildup of fatigue in your legs, as well as finding time to wind down, is by bringing an Ultrapure Epsom Salt bath into your routine.

Magnesium-rich and ideal for muscle recovery and relaxation, take 20 minutes to relax and rest your legs. Your muscles get the benefits of the magnesium, and I like taking a bath late in the evening to help me sleep better afterwards. Perfect time to switch off.

I find it very difficult to sleep the night before a marathon. I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’ve 17 alarms set so I don’t sleep it in when I eventually stop staring at the ceiling.

So having that routine set over these next few weeks makes the night before, after your race gear and bag is set out along with your 48-hour carb loading done, a little easier.

All factors in reducing your fatigue accumulated in your marathon block. You’re putting that extra time to good use and priming yourself for Dublin Marathon day.

Reduce fatigue, but keep the legs moving. Build confidence with shorter, sharper runs, and make recovery part of the plan. Don’t try to cram in more fitness, but protect the fitness you’ve earned.

Trust the training. Trust the taper and trust your recovery.

It’s hard to make a marathon start line. Good luck to everyone on the 25th who will. Yes you’ll be excited. Yes, you’ll be nervous. But the only difference between excitement and nerves is one big deep breath.

Take it all in.

It’s an incredible achievement and such a thrill to run the streets of Dublin with thousands cheering you on.