Race week is the moment when many runners could almost get everything right — and then make it unnecessarily harder on themselves. One more hard run. One more quick leg-test. That's usually exactly the mistake.
When the Zurich Marathon kicks off with the marathon, half marathon and 10K, the last few days aren't about getting fitter anymore. It's about arriving at the start line fresh, focused and with a clear head. The work is done. Now what counts is how well you bring it to race day. Race week isn't a test — race week is the polish.
Run easy, feel the community — that's how race week should feel.
Why the last week matters so much
Many runners underestimate how strongly fatigue, sleep, stress and small bad decisions in the final days hit the race. In sports science it's called tapering: the gradual reduction of training load before a competition. Studies show a well-executed taper can lift performance by 2–3 % — over 6 minutes of difference in a 3:30 marathon. The key point: less training volume, no more hard stimuli, in exchange for clear focus on recovery, routine and confidence.
A proper taper often feels almost unspectacular — and that's usually a good sign. You shouldn't feel daily like you still have something to make up. The opposite: you should slowly notice energy coming back.
Your race week at a glance
From Monday to the start — done right, day by day
Mon – Tue
Short, easy, clean
Easy run with 4–6 strides. No more hard intervals. Volume down 40–50 %.
Wed
Short tempo accent
3–4 km at marathon pace, embedded in easy running. Nothing more.
Thu
Rest day or fully easy
Complete rest or 30 min recovery run max. Prioritize sleep.
Fri
Carb-loading starts
7–10 g of carbs per kg of body weight daily. Familiar meals, no experiments.
Sat
Shakeout run
15–20 min easy. Pick up bib, lay out kit, get to bed early.
Sun – Race Day
Execute the plan
Familiar breakfast, arrive early, hold your own pace.
–40 %
Volume cut
7–10 g
Carbs / kg body weight
2–3 %
Performance gain
Values based on meta-analyses of tapering in endurance sport (Bosquet et al.).
What to actually prioritize in race week
The right race week is a question of prioritization, not activity. Focus on these four things — they make the difference on race day:
- Freshness instead of testing form: Your legs should be awake on Sunday, not empty. Skip test runs at the full distance or desperately fast intervals. What you don't have now, you won't gain in a week.
- Routine instead of experiments: Stick with processes you know. No new shoes, no new gels, no new meals. Race week isn't time for experiments — it's time for what you already tested in training.
- Sleep and nutrition: Carb-loading doesn't mean overeating, it means raising your carb share over the last 2–3 days to 7–10 g per kg of body weight. Sleep on Thursday and Friday nights is more important than the night before the race, when many people don't sleep well anyway.
- Get logistics done early: Bib pickup, travel, kit, breakfast — done by Saturday. The less you have to improvise on Sunday, the calmer your race day starts.
The Saturday shakeout run — the golden session
The day before the Zurich Marathon isn't about performance anymore. That's exactly why an easy shakeout run on Saturday is so valuable. A shakeout isn't a secret extra session or a fitness test — it's there to keep the body moving lightly, wake the legs up a bit, and get you mentally into race mode.
15–20 minutes of easy jogging is plenty. If you're racing in Zurich at the Zurich Marathon or another big road event, you'll often find community shakeout runs in town. Approach them deliberately relaxed: not on pace, not on ego. The atmosphere the day before a race is valuable — the performance pressure isn't.
Athlix Tip — the right setup for race day
Race week is also the time to finalize your outfit setup. Nothing you wear on Sunday should be tried for the first time. If you're looking for socks that don't chafe at marathon pace and give the right foot feedback, the Athlix Tempo Run Essentials Socks are an excellent choice. Important: wear them on your last training runs, not first on race day.
Conclusion
The last days before the Zurich Marathon are not the time for heroics. They're the time for clarity. Do less, but do the right things. Stay loose, but don't go soft. Build tension, but don't pile on more fatigue. When you stand on the start line on race day, nothing should feel heavy — it should feel ready. That's exactly the goal of this week.
Give it a try and tag us on Instagram @athlix.performance — we love seeing how you head into your marathon weekend, and we share the best posts with the community.