How long should my ultra taper be — 2 weeks or 3?
For a 50K, 2 weeks is plenty. For 100K, 2–3 weeks. For 100-mile or longer, 3 weeks of meaningful volume reduction. The longer the race, the more important deep recovery becomes.
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Ultra / Trail · 14–21 day taper
Ultra race week is less about peaking and more about not screwing up logistics. You can't add fitness in two weeks; you can lose a 100-mile race by packing the wrong shoes, mismanaging calories, or going out too fast on the first climb.
This is the day-by-day plan we run inside SportPlan for ultra and trail athletes. Most of the work this week is prep, not training. Volume drops 40–60% but frequency stays — short hikes count as 'training' in the final 14 days.
T-7
Sunday before race-Sunday
Final long effort. 2–3 hours on terrain similar to race terrain. Wear race shoes, race pack, race vest. Practise drinking and eating on the move. Don't bonk-test — finish with gas in the tank.
T-6
Monday
Optional easy jog or full rest. Sleep priority. Hydrate normally. If you have any nagging niggles, see your physio NOW — not on Friday.
T-5
Tuesday
Easy 45 min, ideally on terrain that mimics the race surface (rocky, root-y, climbing). Carry your race pack with race-day weight. Test poles if you'll use them.
T-4
Wednesday
Optional short climbing repeats to keep climbing legs alive without volume. Run uphill 5 min hard, jog back down, repeat 4 times. Then 20 min flat easy.
T-3
Thursday
Easy 30-minute run. After the run, the real work: lay out drop-bag contents per checkpoint. Headlamp + batteries. Spare socks, second pair of shoes if you'll change, extra calories at every drop. Test headlamp NOW, not on race night.
T-2
Friday — travel/check-in day for most
20 min easy jog at race venue if possible, or rest. Carb-leaning meals. Final drop-bag check. Pack the day-of pack list (mandatory gear per race rules).
T-1
Saturday — race eve
Very short shakeout (10 min easy). Race briefing if mandatory. Big lunch (carb-rich, normal foods). Light dinner before 6 PM. Lay out morning kit. Phone alarm + backup alarm. In bed by 9 PM.
Race
Race day
Wake 3 h before start if possible. Breakfast: 2 g/kg carbs + caffeine. 60 min before start: 30 g carbs. Start at perceived-easy effort — the first 20% of an ultra should feel embarrassingly conservative. Plan: 60–90 g carbs per hour from the start, 500 ml fluid per hour, electrolytes 500–700 mg/hr in heat. Eat solid foods at aid stations 4+ hours in.
Calories (per drop): 600–1000 kcal — gels, bars, real food (rice cakes, peanut butter wraps, salt potatoes). Mix sweet and savoury.
Hydration: spare bottles of mix, plain salt tabs, electrolyte tabs. Caffeinated gels for night sections only.
Clothing: dry shirt and socks. Buff for sweat/wind. Light rain shell if forecast looks unstable.
Lights (for races crossing nightfall): headlamp + waist torch is the gold standard. Spare batteries IN their packaging. Test the headlamp before packing.
Medical: blister kit, anti-chafe stick, ibuprofen IF you've trained with it (don't try NSAIDs for the first time in a race), Imodium for GI emergencies.
Recovery (at finish drop): clean clothes, warm jacket, sandals, a salty snack.
Gels work for the first 4–6 hours. After that, most stomachs revolt against pure sugar. Plan to switch to real food: rice balls, potato chunks, peanut butter wraps, salted boiled potatoes, broth, soup.
Caffeine: save it for the second half. A 100 mg caffeine pill or strong gel at the start of a long downhill section in the final third lifts pace and mood. Don't front-load caffeine — you'll crash mid-race.
Electrolytes: 500–700 mg sodium per hour in moderate weather, 1000 mg/hr in heat. Plain salt tabs are cheap and effective. Severe under-fueling of sodium causes the muscle cramps people blame on dehydration.
Night running: lower caffeine effectiveness, blunted appetite. Force yourself to eat on a timer (every 30 min) — don't wait for hunger, which dies at 2 AM.
The biggest pacing error in ultras is going out at marathon-effort because that's what feels 'normal' and your competition is doing it. Your race is 4–24 hours. Your competition's race ends at hour 6 for half the field.
Concrete rule: in the first 20% of the race (the first 20K of a 100K, the first 32 km of a 100-miler), you should be running at an effort that feels 'easier than it should'. If you can't hold a conversation, you're already in trouble.
Walk every uphill of more than 6% grade from the start. Walk-eat at every aid station. Don't try to bank time on the front half — that bank goes bust in the second half of every ultra ever run.
For a 50K, 2 weeks is plenty. For 100K, 2–3 weeks. For 100-mile or longer, 3 weeks of meaningful volume reduction. The longer the race, the more important deep recovery becomes.
No. Back-to-back long runs (the classic ultra training prescription) belong in the build phase, not race week. The last big back-to-back should be T-21 or earlier. After that, recover.
Some — particularly uphill technique with poles if you'll use them. A 30-minute power-hike with race poles on T-5 or T-4 is good. Just don't make it your main session.
Adjust gear, not race plan. Have a rain shell ready if there's a chance of weather. Pack a thermal layer for night sections regardless of forecast. Tape your shoe seams if heavy rain is expected. Don't change pacing strategy because of weather — adapt during the race.
No. Race-week insomnia is universal. What matters is sleep banked in the 2 weeks BEFORE race week. Two solid weeks of 8+ hours per night pre-race, then a couple of restless nights in race week, is normal and won't ruin your race.
Your race week adapts to your real readiness. Start free, with no card.
Ramon Curto designed SportPlan's endurance-training methodology from exercise-physiology principles. SportPlan applies it autonomously to the information you enter and the data you choose to connect; it is not ongoing one-to-one coaching or medical care.
Last revised July 2026