Marathon Taper Strength Training: What to Cut and Keep

The taper is the part of marathon training where nerves rise and mileage falls, and it is where lifters most often guess wrong about what to keep. In a marathon taper, keep your strength sessions but cut the volume first, trim the load only slightly, and stop heavy leg work about a week before the race, so your legs arrive fresh and sharp rather than flat. Strength is not what makes you tired in the last weeks; extra volume and new exercises are.

This guide uses the Monumental Marathon in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, November 7, 2026 as the example race. Swap in your own date and the same three-week logic holds.

The principle: reduce volume, keep the signal

A taper works by lowering total training stress while holding enough intensity to keep your body primed. Lifting follows the same rule:

• Volume (sets times reps) falls the most.
• Load stays close to what you have been doing, or drops a little.
• Frequency stays at one or two sessions a week until the final days.
• Novelty drops to zero. No new exercises, no new equipment, no testing maxes.

The goal is not to improve strength in these weeks. It is to preserve what you built and arrive fresh.

The three week table

Counting back from Saturday, November 7, the taper weeks fall as follows:

Week	Dates	Running volume	Lifting sessions	What to do
Taper week 1 (three weeks out)	Oct 12 to 18	About 80 percent	Two	Cut sets by about a third; keep the same exercises and loads
Taper week 2	Oct 19 to 25	About 60 percent	Two short	Cut sets by about half; last moderate-heavy leg session by Oct 28 or earlier
Race week	Oct 26 to Nov 1 and Nov 2 to 7	About 40 percent	One light, early in the week	Bodyweight and mobility only; no heavy legs

Week by week:

• Three weeks out: Do two sessions. Squat or leg press, hinge, single-leg work and core, but 2 sets of each instead of 3 or 4. Keep a couple of reps in reserve.
• Two weeks out: Two shorter sessions of around 30 minutes. Keep upper body work normal if you like. For legs, use the same exercises with 1 to 2 sets and lighter loads than your peak.
• Race week: A single easy session early in the week, such as Monday or Tuesday, with a handful of bodyweight squats, glute bridges, band work and mobility. Nothing that leaves soreness by Saturday.

If your own training block ran longer or shorter, shift the table the same number of days. The idea is a gradual step-down, not a cliff.

What to cut and what to keep

Cut:

• Heavy, high-rep leg sets to failure.
• Walking lunges and step-downs with load, which cause delayed soreness.
• New exercises of any kind.
• Plyometrics and jumps with high volume.
• Long, grinding core circuits.

Keep:

• Upper-body strength work at normal volume, since it does not tax running legs much.
• A few sets of familiar leg work with a lighter load.
• Single-leg balance and glute activation drills.
• Short mobility sessions for hips, calves and ankles.
• Light core work like planks and side planks.

Fueling and sleep during the taper

Lower mileage lowers energy use, but appetite sometimes stays high. Keep meals regular and carbohydrate-containing, and avoid cutting calories to offset the lighter weeks. Prioritize sleep, which does more for race-day freshness than any last-minute workout. The final days are the time to practice the race-morning meal you will actually eat.

Mistakes that undo a taper

1. Panic training. Adding miles or lifting hard because you feel rested.
2. Testing a max to see whether strength held.
3. Trying a new exercise or machine in the last ten days.
4. Skipping all movement for a week, leaving you stiff and flat.
5. A hard leg day in race week.

If you are unsure, do less. Under-training in the last week rarely hurts, while over-training often does.

Where to go next

For the full block that leads into the taper, read Monumental Marathon training: the strength plan. If you are planning a spring race instead, Carmel Marathon training has a calendar built around that event, and strength for runners on the Monon covers the overall approach.

Sample sessions for the last three weeks

Three weeks out (about 40 minutes). Goblet squat 2 x 8, Romanian deadlift 2 x 8, split squat 2 x 8 each side, calf raise 2 x 12, row 3 x 10, side plank 2 x 30 seconds.

Two weeks out (about 30 minutes). Goblet squat 1 x 8, Romanian deadlift 1 x 8, single-leg balance 2 x 30 seconds each side, glute bridge 2 x 12, push-up or press 2 x 10, dead bug 2 x 8.

Race week (about 15 minutes, early). Bodyweight squat 1 x 10, glute bridge 1 x 12, hip and ankle mobility, a few easy hops if you are already used to them, and a short walk. Then rest. Choose weights that feel easy and stop each set with plenty in reserve.

Signs your taper is on track

By the second taper week, legs often feel heavier before they feel lighter, which surprises many runners. This is common and not a reason to add training. By the final week, sleep, appetite and mood should be steady, and easy runs should feel smoother. If you feel flat, wired or irritable, keep the plan, sleep more and trust the work already banked. Last-minute changes cause more problems than they solve.

Questions about pain or health

Pain that worsens, swelling, chest discomfort or dizziness in the weeks before a race is a reason to see a physician or physical therapist, not to push through. A coach adjusts your sessions around what your clinician advises.

A coach can set your final three weeks around your race date, work schedule and current lifts. See our strength training coaching in Carmel to learn how sessions are structured.