Race Week: What You Should (and Shouldn't) Be Doing Before Your 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, or Marathon
A physical therapist's guide to strength training, running volume, intensity, and mobility during race week.
Spinx Run Fest is right around the corner! Whether you're running the 5K, 10K, half marathon, or full marathon, you've likely spent the last several weeks (or months) preparing for race day.
But what you do during the final week before your race can make a difference in how you feel when you get to the starting line.
As a physical therapist who works primarily with runners, one of the biggest mistakes I see is athletes trying to completely overhaul their routine to either gain fitness or maximize recovery by going to extremes.
The goal of race week isn't to gain fitness. It's to show up healthy, recovered, and ready to use the fitness you've already built.
Here's how I'd approach race week for each distance.
1. Strength Training: Maintain the Stimulus, Reduce the Fatigue
If you've been consistently strength training throughout your training cycle, great! That work has helped prepare your muscles, tendons, and bones to tolerate the demands of running. But race week isn't the time to push for a new squat PR or introduce a challenging workout.
You also don't necessarily need to eliminate strength training altogether. Research on tapering suggests that reducing overall training volume while preserving some intensity can help maintain neuromuscular function and performance.
One option for runners who have been strength training consistently is incorporating low-volume isometric exercises at approximately 50% of maximal effort, provided they're already familiar with these movements.
Isometrics involve generating muscular tension without moving through a large range of motion. They can provide a muscular stimulus without the same movement demands as traditional strength exercises and may be less likely to cause soreness than unfamiliar or high-volume eccentric training.
Examples include:
Mid-range split squat holds
Wall sits
Calf raise holds
Isometric hamstring bridges
It's worth mentioning that the research does not establish 50% effort isometrics as the single best race-week strength protocol. This is simply one practical way to maintain some muscular loading while minimizing fatigue.
For 5K and 10K runners:
You can generally maintain some light strength work early in the week, particularly if you're accustomed to lifting multiple times per week.
Reduce your usual strength training volume by approximately 50% or more.
Consider a short session of familiar isometric exercises.
If you're continuing traditional lifting, avoid training to failure.
Avoid heavy eccentric exercises that tend to cause soreness.
Aim to finish lower-body strength training at least 2–3 days before your race, or earlier if you tend to get sore.
For half marathon and marathon runners:
I'd recommend taking an even more conservative approach.
Consider skipping heavy lower-body strength training altogether during race week.
If you want to maintain your routine, stick to a short, low-fatigue session early in the week.
Familiar, moderate-effort isometrics may be a good option.
Avoid high-volume squats, lunges, deadlifts, plyometrics, or anything that typically leaves you sore.
Prioritize feeling fresh over maintaining your normal gym schedule.
And if you haven't been strength training or performing isometrics throughout your training cycle? Don't start now.
One strength session isn't going to meaningfully improve your performance this week, but it absolutely has the potential to leave you sore on race day.
2. Running Volume: Trust Your Taper
One of the most common race-week mistakes is running too much because you're worried about losing fitness. Here's the good news: You're not going to lose meaningful fitness by reducing your mileage for a few days. In fact, a well-executed taper allows accumulated fatigue to dissipate while maintaining the physiological adaptations you've worked so hard to develop.
Your taper should generally be proportional to your race distance and training history.
5K runners:
A modest taper is often sufficient. Reduce your overall mileage during race week, but you can generally maintain your normal running frequency if you're feeling good.
10K runners:
Consider reducing your training mileage by approximately 30–50% compared with your peak training weeks. Keep runs shorter and avoid accumulating unnecessary fatigue.
Half marathon runners:
A reduction of approximately 40–60% from peak training volume may be appropriate, depending on your training history and taper duration. Your last substantial long run should already be behind you.
Marathon runners:
Ideally, you've already been tapering for 1–3 weeks leading up to race day. Race-week training mileage may be reduced by 40–60% or more compared with peak training. Your goal is to shed accumulated fatigue without completely abandoning your normal running routine.
These percentages are general guidelines, not rigid rules, and refer to training mileage rather than including the race itself.
What NOT to do:
Don't try to make up missed mileage from earlier in your training cycle.
Don't squeeze in one last long run to prove you're ready.
Don't increase mileage because your legs feel unusually good.
Don't suddenly stop all running if you're accustomed to running regularly and your training plan calls for short, easy runs.
That last point is important! You don't necessarily need to sit on the couch all week. A few short, easy runs can help maintain your normal routine and keep your legs feeling good.
3. Running Intensity: Keep Some Speed, Lose the Fatigue
Tapering doesn't necessarily mean eliminating intensity altogether.
For many runners, maintaining a small amount of faster running during race week can help preserve neuromuscular sharpness without creating excessive fatigue.
The key is reducing the amount of hard running, not necessarily eliminating every bit of faster running.
For 5K and 10K runners:
Because these events rely heavily on higher-intensity running, you may benefit from a short, controlled workout early in the week.
This could look like:
A few short intervals at race pace with generous recovery.
A short easy run followed by 4–6 relaxed strides.
A reduced version of a workout you've already been doing throughout training.
Keep the total workload low. You should finish feeling like you could have done more.
For half marathon and marathon runners:
Your priority should be minimizing fatigue.
Keep most runs easy.
A few short race-pace efforts or strides may be appropriate if they're already part of your routine.
Avoid long tempo runs, demanding interval sessions, or workouts that require significant recovery.
Race week is not the time to test your fitness.
You don't need to prove that you can hold race pace for another five miles before your half marathon. You don't need to run your fastest mile of the training cycle before your 5K.
Trust the work you've already done.
4. Mobility: Stick With What You Know
This is one of my biggest recommendations as a physical therapist.
If you've been consistently performing mobility exercises throughout your training cycle, there's no reason you need to abandon them during race week.
However, if you haven't been doing mobility work regularly, this is NOT the week to suddenly start an aggressive stretching routine.
Here's why.
Introducing unfamiliar mobility exercises, particularly prolonged or aggressive stretching, can leave muscles feeling sore or irritated. And while mobility can be useful for addressing specific movement limitations, suddenly increasing your range of motion isn't necessarily going to improve your running performance.
What I recommend:
Continue your usual mobility routine if it feels good and doesn't create soreness.
Keep movements gentle and controlled.
Use your normal dynamic warm-up before running.
Avoid aggressive stretching, prolonged end-range positions, or trying to force additional flexibility.
Don't introduce unfamiliar mobility exercises, foam rolling techniques, or recovery treatments right before your race.
If you've never used a massage gun, had dry needling, or gotten a deep tissue massage before,
I'd also avoid scheduling your first session during race week. These interventions can sometimes create temporary soreness, and the potential benefit isn't worth experimenting with something unfamiliar right before your race.
The bottom line: Maintain the mobility you have. Don't chase new mobility during race week.
5. What If Something Starts Hurting During Race Week?
This is where I want runners to be especially careful.
It's not uncommon to notice little aches and pains during a taper. Sometimes these are sensations you've had throughout training that become more noticeable when your routine changes.
But that doesn't mean every new pain should be dismissed as a normal part of tapering.
If you're experiencing a new or worsening injury, don't try to fix it by throwing everything at it.
That means:
Don't suddenly start an aggressive strengthening program for the painful area.
Don't aggressively stretch something simply because it feels tight.
Don't run through worsening pain because you're afraid of missing your race.
Don't use pain medication just to mask symptoms so you can race.
Instead, reduce aggravating loads and get the issue assessed if symptoms are persistent, worsening, changing your gait, or concerning for a bone stress injury.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for an irritated tendon or muscle during race week is simply reduce the load it's being exposed to.
And sometimes an injury needs more than a few days of rest. A race isn't worth turning a manageable injury into something that sidelines you for months.
6. Don't Forget the Basics
There's a tendency to focus on all the little things we can do during race week, but the fundamentals are often the most important.
Sleep: Aim for consistent, high-quality sleep throughout the week. Don't panic if you sleep poorly the night before the race. The sleep you've accumulated over the preceding nights matters, too.
Nutrition: Eat enough to support recovery and your upcoming race. Half marathon and marathon runners should pay particular attention to carbohydrate availability and their established fueling plan. Don't experiment with unfamiliar foods, gels, or supplements on race day.
Hydration: Stay consistently hydrated without forcing excessive amounts of water. If you've practiced using electrolytes during training, stick with what works for you.
Recovery: Avoid adding unnecessary physical stress. Race week probably isn't the ideal time for an all-day hike, a challenging fitness class, or a new recreational sport. Same goes for psychological stress: control the controllables.
Your Race-Week Cheat Sheet
5K / 10K | Half Marathon / Marathon | |
Strength | Light, reduced-volume session early in week; familiar isometrics are an option | Skip heavy lifting; optional light isometric maintenance |
Running volume | Reduce mileage while generally maintaining familiar frequency | More substantial taper; prioritize recovery |
Intensity | Short race-pace efforts or strides if familiar | Minimal, controlled race-pace work or strides |
Mobility | Continue normal routine | Continue normal routine |
Avoid | Heavy lifting, new workouts, extra mileage | Heavy lifting, new workouts, extra mileage |
Final Thoughts: You Can't Cram for a Race
If there's one thing I want you to take away from this, it's that the work is already done.
You're not going to build meaningful additional fitness in the final few days before your race, but you can absolutely accumulate fatigue that interferes with your performance.
Whether you're chasing a 5K PR, running your first half marathon, or tackling 26.2 miles, your priority should be arriving at the starting line feeling healthy and ready to go.
Keep your routine familiar, reduce unnecessary training stress, and trust the preparation you've put in.
And if you're heading into Spinx Run Fest with an injury concern or you're not sure whether something is normal soreness versus a developing injury, that's exactly where I can help.
I won't be here to offer treatment, but message me on instagram or text me at 518-330-6979 if you have questions.
Good luck at Spinx Run Fest! I'll be cheering you on from afar!
Felicia Sciortino, PT, DPT
Endurance Ally Physical Therapy
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