What to Do in the Final 4 Weeks Before Your Ultra

The final four weeks of an ultra build are a strange mix of excitement, nerves, and phantom niggles. You’ve done the hard work. Now your job is to arrive fresh, confident, and ready. Those last weeks matter, not because of big sessions, but because of smart decisions.

“During taper-time the list of what not to do quite possibly outweighs the list of things to do,” coach Sarah Cameron says with a smile. “Tapers do work, but too often people lose confidence in them because they don’t get it quite right (and that includes counting travel days as rest days)”.

Part of the puzzle is finding the right taper for you that takes into account the race you’re doing and what life looks like in the weeks before.

1. Ease off, but don’t shut down

A good taper isn’t guesswork. It’s one of the most researched parts of endurance preparation, and nobody has shaped our understanding more than Iñigo Mujika, whose work consistently shows that athletes perform best when they reduce training volume while maintaining both frequency and intensity. In other words, you keep the engine turning over, but you stop piling on the miles that create lingering fatigue.

This is where many ultra-runners go wrong. They cut everything. Fewer runs, no strides, no quality, and wonder why they feel flat on race day. Mujika’s research is clear: a well-designed taper should leave you feeling fresh, sharp, and responsive, not rusty or sluggish. The goal is readiness, not rest at all costs.

Sarah feels it’s important to add that you shouldn't “worry too much about random niggles that may appear because the body does see the taper as a chance to do a few repairs and they will likely come good on race day.”

2. Prioritise sleep and reduce stress

Sleep is one of the biggest performance multipliers you have in the final weeks. During deep sleep your body releases growth hormone, repairs muscle tissue, restores immune function, and consolidates the training adaptations you’ve already banked.

Poor sleep, on the other hand, raises cortisol, increases injury risk, and blunts glycogen restoration, exactly what you don’t want heading into race week. Even an extra 30-45 minutes per night in the final fortnight can meaningfully improve mood, reaction time, pacing control, and overall resilience.

You’ve done the hard work; sleep is what helps your body absorb it.

Coach Ry Webb points out “this can be simple changes like not having that extra afternoon coffee. Helping wind down a little easier.”

Tip 3: Test your kit properly (why it matters)

Testing your kit in the final weeks isn’t about superstition, it’s about reducing cognitive load on race day.

The brain loves familiarity, especially under stress. When your pack, bottles, headtorch and layers feel predictable, your mind stays calmer and decision-making stays sharper. But when something new starts rubbing, bouncing or behaving strangely at hour six, your brain has to divert attention from pacing, fuelling and staying positive.

Research in endurance psychology shows that even small equipment annoyances can increase perceived effort and reduce emotional control. “Using the same pockets each time for bits of kit will make it intuitive when your brain can only focus on the basics” adds Ry.

A short 60-90 minute shake-out run with your full race setup gives you one last chance to confirm everything feels intuitive, comfortable and ready. The less thinking you have to do on race day, the better you’ll run.

Tip 4: Practise your pacing plan mentally (why it matters)

Mental rehearsal works because your brain doesn’t fully distinguish between imagined and real movement.

Visualising calm early pacing, steady climbs, smooth aid-station stops and confident problem-solving activates the same neural pathways you’ll rely on in the race itself.

Studies on imagery and endurance performance show improvements in pacing accuracy, emotional regulation and perceived control when athletes rehearse scenarios in advance. By picturing the moments you know will test you, the climb you’re worried about, the night section, the point where motivation usually dips. You pre-load your brain with a plan.

That makes you far less reactive on race day and far more capable of sticking to your strategy when fatigue rises. A few minutes of quiet, structured rehearsal each week can have a surprisingly big impact.

5. Don’t cram

You can’t add fitness now, but you can add fatigue. No last-minute 40 milers, no all-out hills, no attempts to “make up” for lost weeks. You are already ready.

Arrive healthy, rested, and confident, not exhausted trying to prove something to yourself.

Equally, “don’t use the extra time and renewed energy levels to start building a garden shed or to go to those hot yoga classes that you have always fancied” says Sarah. “Use your extra time wisely, but don’t be afraid to just relax as well”.

If you need to then sit down, with your coach or your training plan, and go over the preparation you have done. You are prepared, back the work you have done and remember that it is probably too late to change anything this time… the next race is a different story though.

The extra mile

Coach Anna Buckingham highlights another great use of taper time: “During the taper I get my athletes to write down a number of process goals they would like to achieve during the event.

They should be goals that are within the athletes control, meaningful and measurable. I know first hand it's very easy to get derailed by only having an outcome goal, so having small successes to focus on throughout a race no matter what the distance can set you up for success.

It might be something as simple as smiling at every marshal, fuelling every 20 minutes or repeating positive affirmations to yourself.”