Your Mileage Is Dropping—Here’s What to Add During Your Taper
3 Key Benefits of Adding Mobility Work to Your Tapering Phase
You did the 18-milers.
The 20-miler.
The hills.
The early mornings.
And now your mileage is dropping... but suddenly every calf tightness, hip ache, and stiff ankle has you wondering, “Is something wrong?”
Welcome to taper.
This is NOT the time to squeeze in more fitness. Your job now is to help your body recover from months of training so you can arrive at the start line feeling fresh, mobile, and ready to run.
One of my favorite things to add during these final weeks? Just 5 minutes of mobility a day.
The taper can feel weird: fewer miles, more nerves, and a brain that wonders, “Am I doing enough?” Good news—this is the perfect window to sprinkle in short mobility sessions that help you feel loose, efficient, and confident without adding fatigue. Here’s why it works and exactly how to do it.
1) Enhanced Recovery & Less Stiffness
Even with mileage down, you’re carrying weeks of training stress. Light mobility—think controlled joint circles, gentle tissue work, and rhythmic stretches—boosts circulation and helps clear lingering soreness so you show up fresh instead of creaky. The key: low-dose, frequent sessions (3–10 minutes) that leave you feeling better immediately, not cooked later.
2) Better Usable Range of Motion = Smoother Movement
Mobility improves usable range at the ankles, hips, and thoracic spine—your big “steering joints” for running. A little more dorsiflexion, hip extension, and trunk rotation control can smooth your stride, reduce braking, and lower the energy cost per step. Translation: you keep the same pace with less effort.
Target hot spots for runners:
Ankles: dorsiflexion glides, calf/soleus work
Hips: 90/90 switches, couch stretch, hip flexor mobility
T-spine: open books, thread-the-needle, reach-roll-lift
3) Address Those Tight Spots Before Race Day
Tight calves. Stiff ankles. Hip flexors that suddenly feel tighter than they did two weeks ago. During taper, you may notice things you barely paid attention to during peak training.
Gentle mobility gives you a low-fatigue way to keep moving, maintain the range of motion you already have, and address those stiff areas without adding another hard training stimulus.
Learn more on Taper: here
So, as you're dialing back those miles in preparation for the big day, don't underestimate the power of adding some quality mobility work to your routine. It could very well be the secret sauce that elevates your performance on race day.
RUNNING ST. GEORGE?
This is exactly why I created my 15-Day Pre-Race Mobility Challenge.
✅ Just 5 minutes a day
✅ Runner-specific mobility
✅ Easy to add during taper
✅ Start whenever you want
✅ AND (Use code STG26 to save 20% this week only)
You have done the hard training. Now let's get those legs to the start line feeling as good as possible.
START THE 15-DAY MOBILITY CHALLENGE →Here's to reaching new personal bests!
We have a Mobility Challenge that is great to add to your taper.
Just 5 minutes a day with great results.
Here is what a couple of athletes said about the challenge when they added
it to their taper for the St George Marathon.
You've banked the miles.
You've done the long runs.
You've climbed the hills.
You don't need to get fitter during taper—you need to let the fitness you've built show up.
Spend five minutes a day taking care of the body that is about to carry you 26.2 miles.
JOIN THE 15-DAY MOBILITY CHALLENGE → Use code STG26 to save 20% this week only.
See you at the St. George finish line!
Your fav. Exercise Physiologist
and Run Coach
- Dayna 🏃♀️
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