. 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
inspired the trend in 1954 with epic sessions like 10 x 200 metres followed by 50 x 400 metres – a combined 13.67 miles of speedwork. Ambitious runners the world over have aspired to that imposing standard ever since, in a quest for that elusive PB
