5 Taper Tips from Coach Leanne Klassen

Leanne is a local running coach in Calgary with an abundance of knowledge and experience in all things running — from the track to the marathon.

Her accolades speak for themselves, having taken 1st place at the Calgary Marathon in 2019, the Edmonton Marathon in 2018, the Victoria Half Marathon in 2021, and most recently back-to-back wins at the Calgary Marathon’s 10K in 2024 and 2025. She boasts an impressive set of personal bests, including a 2:40 marathon, a 1:15 half marathon, and a 34 minute 10K.

So when I say Leanne knows what she’s talking about, she certainly does. She is a UESCA Run coach, and certified by Endurance Sports Nutrition.

Here are Leanne’s Top 5 Taper tips as you get ready for your spring races:

When it comes to the taper, your race can be won or lost here. You are not building fitness anymore, this is where your body does the recovering, repairing and reloading. My biggest pieces of advice for the taper are:

1. Prioritize recovery like it’s your job! (Sleep, nutrition + hydration, stress)
   • Make sleep THE priority (aim for 8+ hrs), even if it means sleeping in and skipping a morning run.
   • Minimize outside stress where you can (have a packing list, figure out race day logistics early, stay off your feet as much as possible when you are not running, etc). 
     
2. Cut volume, but keep intensity.
   • You want to drop your mileage slightly each week (starting 2-3 weeks out depending on your race distance), but keep intensity, the workouts just become shorter. If you cut out intensity all together you risk feeling flat come race day.
   • Please keep in mind though, you do not need to crush your workouts, you are not building fitness at this point, you are maintaining.
     
3. Expect to feel weird.
   • Embrace the “taper crazies”. If you feel off, heavy, sluggish, random niggles, etc that is actually very normal in the taper. Your body is repairing from all the hard work you’ve put in, and getting ready to reload for race day.
   • Focus on what you can control and be prepared for the rest, but don’t let it become all consuming (weather etc).
     
4. No last minute hero moves!
   • This is not the time to test your fitness, add extra miles, test out new gear or nutrition – this is the time to dial in and trust in your fitness and the decisions you’ve made to get to this point. It IS enough!
     
5. My biggest piece of advice is – Do what YOU feel you need to do to get to race day feeling rested, fresh, and ready to FLY!
   • YOU know yourself the best and are the only one that truly knows how you’re feeling as the taper progresses, so listen to your body and give it what you feel it needs, and everything WILL come together on race day!