Taper Mileage Calculator

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 miles or kilometers 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.

Enter your peak weekly mileage and your desired taper percentage, and this calculator gives you your reduced target mileage for race week.