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Taper Mileage Calculator

Plan your pre-race taper volume.

Result

46.8 km
25.2 km

How it is calculated

You enter your peak weekly distance P and the percentage r you want to cut. The tapered weekly distance is P × (1 − r/100) and the distance cut is P − tapered. Both results are shown to one decimal with the label "km". If the reduction is empty it defaults to 40 %. Peak distance must be above zero and the reduction must be between 0 and 90 inclusive, otherwise there is no result. The tool gives one single reduced figure for one week. It does not spread the reduction across two or three weeks, does not set daily distances and does not say how much intensity to keep. It also labels the result "km" even if you entered miles, so read it in your own unit.

Worked example

A runner peaked at 72 km in one week and chooses a 35 % cut for race week. Tapered distance: 72 × (1 − 35/100) = 72 × 0.65 = 46.8 km. Distance removed: 72 − 46.8 = 25.2 km. The tool shows a tapered week of 46.8 km and a cut of 25.2 km. If the runner prefers a three-week taper they could run the tool three times with growing percentages, for example 20 %, 35 % and 50 %, each time starting from the same peak.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the target mileage in the reduction field. The field asks for the percentage to cut, so typing 46.8 gives no result, while 35 gives a 46.8 km week.
  • Entering the percentage of mileage you keep instead of the percentage you cut. 35 here means cutting 35 %, not keeping 35 %, so keeping 65 % is entered as 35.
  • Using your last week's mileage rather than your true peak week. The reduction is applied to whatever number you enter, so it must be your highest recent week.
  • Applying one reduction to a three-week taper. The tool gives a single week; for several weeks, run it once per week with a different percentage from the same peak.
  • Entering miles and reading the label as kilometres. The label is always km, whatever unit you typed.

About this calculator

Tapering is the planned reduction of training volume in the days or weeks before a race, letting the body recover and adapt from accumulated training stress (a process called supercompensation) while retaining the fitness built during peak training. This calculator takes your peak weekly mileage and your chosen taper percentage and reduces it accordingly, so you know exactly how many kilometres to plan for race week.

Running and triathlon coaches build tapers around this principle because cutting volume too little leaves athletes fatigued on race day, while cutting it too much or too abruptly can lead to a flat, sluggish feeling from detraining. A typical taper reduces weekly volume anywhere from 20% to 60% over one to three weeks while keeping some race-pace intensity in shorter workouts, following periodization principles that separate training load from training intensity.

A taper percentage from 0 to 90% is accepted, though typical tapers cut weekly volume by 20% to 60%.

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