. And most importantly, the average performance improvement by the subjects who tapered in these studies was three per cent. That could equate to as much as five to 10 minutes in a marathon. The review’s main conclusion was that, "The primary aim of the taper

worries can skyrocket. But take comfort that thousands of other marathon runners preparing to race this coming weekend are going through exactly the same thing. And take refuge in your final mission: to ensure that your body is sufficiently fuelled

have changed.In the first Olympic marathon at least one runner thought it was smart to drink wine during the race. We're not saying the challengers to conventional wisdom are right – or wrong. Only that their ideas are worth considering, because