Trust the process. Respect the taper.

Halfway through marathon training is where confidence disappears.

Your legs feel flat.

Your easy pace feels harder than it should.

Recovery feels slower.

And suddenly you’re questioning everything you’ve done.

“I don’t ever run close to 42km in training… how am I meant to do this on race day?”

Here’s what’s actually happening 👇

At this stage of the block, you’re sitting at peak cumulative fatigue.

Not because you’re unfit. But because your training has done its job.

You’ve stacked:

• increasing weekly mileage
• long runs on already tired legs
• midweek quality sessions
• limited recovery between key workouts

So your nervous system is TIRED!

Your muscles are carrying micro-damage.

Your legs don’t feel responsive even though your aerobic fitness is higher than it’s ever been.

That’s not a problem. That’s adaptation.

Now let’s talk about the long run because this is where panic usually kicks in.

For most marathon runners, the longest long run will sit somewhere between 30–35km.

Why that range?

Because beyond that:

• aerobic benefit plateaus
• musculoskeletal stress increases rapidly
• recovery cost outweighs training return

In simple terms:

You stop gaining meaningful fitness, but you dramatically increase injury risk and lingering fatigue.

The goal of the long run is not to prove you can survive 42.2km.

It’s to:

• build aerobic durability

• practise fuelling while fatigued

• train connective tissue to tolerate long loading

• develop confidence running on tired legs

All of that can be achieved without running the full distance.

The final 7–12KM of the marathon isn’t something you “train” by doing it early.

It’s something you unlock with:

• rested legs
• full glycogen stores
• adrenaline
• crowds
• atmosphere

That’s what the taper is for.

You train tired. So you can race fresh.

If you felt amazing right now, that would actually be a red flag.

The taper doesn’t build fitness. It removes fatigue so your existing fitness can finally show up.

Trust the process. Respect the taper. You will feel different when it matters.