The countdown to the International Marathon of Mauritius is in full swing. There are 20 days to the event and all the hard training should be behind you. The 20-miler is history. You should have broken in your marathon shoes, finalised your running kit, practised your run-drinking and run-eating techniques and be looking forward to the big day.

The next three weeks is the taper period of rest and recovery from the hard training. The serious training is done. You now focus on getting to the starting line well-rested. An optimal taper can achieve a 3 to 5% improvement in performance for an elite athlete. For a novice marathon runner, a good taper can mean the difference between crossing the finish line in a rewarding time and not finishing.

The improvement in performance attributed to a taper period is due in part to increased muscle strength and power. The reductions in training allow the musculature ample time to recover fully from the endurance training and gain strength. In addition, the taper period improves the body?s muscle glycogen stores giving you extra energy stores. The reduced training demands correspond to a reduced demand for glycogen as an energy source, and as a result, more glycogen is stored in the muscles. A high carbohydrate diet is also important during the taper period to ensure high levels of muscle glycogen are built. Finally, the oxidative enzymes in the muscle are altered, creating improved aerobic capacity.

One of the side effects of tapering is that the increased muscle glycogen stores also increase the amount of water stored in the body, giving you a slightly heavier feel. In fact, your weight may increase during the taper period. Don?t be alarmed and don?t convince yourself that you need one more long day of training ? it may do more harm than good. A major problem with tapering is psychological. Runners worry about losing conditioning by running less, so become anxious. David L. Costill, Ph.D. of Ball State University, found in his research that during time trials following a taper, runners were so well rested and felt so good that they ran the first few laps of a 5,000-meter test run too fast. Likewise, you won?t lose conditioning when you taper and on the big day, you?ll need to control any impulses to run the first few miles too fast.

Research also suggests that you need to continue to train at, or near, race pace on the hard days. Duncan MacDougall, Ph.D. of McMaster University studied tapering. ?We still don?t know what the optimal tapering plan is,? he concluded, ?but we do know that if you?re going to be tapering for a week or so, it?s important to keep the intensity of your workouts fairly high as you cut back drastically on your mileage.? Dr. MacDougall was working with 10-K runners, who would taper a shorter time, but the message for marathoners remains the same: reduce quantity, but maintain quality.

And to the week ahead. While total miles for the week drop, Tuesday?s and Thursday?s training remains about the same while the drop in your Wednesday midweek mileage is subtle. The decline is shallow for these first few days. On the weekend, the long run is cut significantly from 20 miles back to 12 miles. Maintain your usual pace for these distances: quality should remain about the same. Don?t do anything in cross-training that will push you too hard. Keep the bike ride gentle. Swim more to loosen your muscles, not strengthen them. And if you?ve been doing strength training, it?s time to stop. Walking remains a good rest and recovery exercise.

It?s a good idea to run some sections of the actual course. If possible, I would recommend running the last few miles of the course. Run it two or three times over the next 3 weeks. Course familiarisation is a strong motivational tool. When I trained to complete a two day, 132km kayak race in Western Australia during 1997, I had the luxury of training on the actual course. I paddled the last 20km numerous times during training. This gave me the psychological advantage of knowing what to expect once my glycogen stores had dried up. There will be course markers every 1 mile or 1km along the way so you?ll know how far you?ve gone. But use the home advantage: get to know the course before June 20th.

This is the last week to register. Registration closes on 6th June for the marathon, the 1/2 marathon and the 10km run. If you?ve dropped out of training because of injury, commitments or any other reason, but still want to be a part of the day, volunteer to help. To register or to volunteer, contact: TEAM Events. Telephone: 453-5701. Email: [email protected] Website: www.maratmaurice.com.