For those of you that average 30MPW and peak in the mid 40s for a marathon, how many weeks are between your last 20 miler and the marathon? I've seen a lot of postings stating that you don't really need a taper for someone with low milage. I've finished 3 marathons but none of them went well. I know more miles would equal a better marathon but I also know that many of you have finished in the 9 to 10 min per mile range while never going much above 40 MPW and averaging only 30MPW for the year so I would like to get recommendations from that group.

I probably averaged 35mpw last year, with a max of about 52 and quite a few weeks in the 40s. I had the following taper - all these runs were done on Sundays 20 miles for my last long run 14 miles 9 mile progression run 26.2 - marathon day So it was three weeks back with a pretty big cut down. It worked for me. I felt very prepared for the race and my legs felt rested enough.

Thank you

20 (This is my third 20 so I run it hard!) (First is slow and flat) (2nd is hilly and slow) 22 (I run it 30 sec off race pace and make it hilly) 15 (Race Pace) 10 (Easy, Easy, Easy) Race Please keep in mind that everyone is different. What works for many may not work for you. You can definatley run a quality Marathon between 30 - 40 miles per week. Last year I averaged 30 MPW for Indy in the fall and ran (3:30) Now I did some cycling and swiming as well. In the Spring I ran 32 MPW and ran 3:45 for Cincinnati. Your not finishing well could be for a bunch of reasons. Your mileage, a lack of long runs, or what you take during the marathon. I never finished strong at a marathon until I started taking more gu. Again everyone is different. Lance Armstrong took 15 GU's during NYC. I would never do that many but I will do 8-9. Experimenting is the key.