The training schedule for a marathon works on the principles of slowly increasing your weekly running mileage until 3 to 4 weeks before your race where you will reach your peak mileage of somewhere in the region of 35 to 45 miles (depending upon your estimated finishing time). During this time you will have trained your running muscles (primarily your legs but also the rest of your body’s muscles which you use to run) as well as your cardiovascular system (your heart and lungs) and your energy supply systems (the systems used to supply fuel to your muscles).

- The taper is a crucial element of your Marathon Training Schedule

Once you have completed all of the hard training miles you then need to ensure you are in your prime condition to race. This means allowing your muscles to fully recover from the training loads you have been placing upon it and have sufficient fuel supplies to get you through the race. This is done by tapering down your running miles in the 3 to 4 weeks leading up to your race and taking on-board adequate amounts of carbohydrate.

If you follow a good marathon taper you will be bristling with energy and more than ready to complete your race.

The schedules in the How to Run a Marathon Manual all have tapers built in for you, so you don’t have to worry about this crucial part of your marathon preparation, just follow the set marathon training schedule in the manual to get in shape for your marathon.

There's a Lot More Where That Came From…

This article is a condensed snippet taken from Nick Mitchell’s information-packed manual How to Run a Marathon. Your essential manual to enable you to run a successful marathon includes training schedules, advice on everything you can think of and lots you probably haven’t even thought of! You need this manual if you want to cross the marathon finish line with energy to spare, in a personal best finishing time and with a big smile on your face. More details here: VirtualHealthClub.com/marathon