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[[The Golden Rule of Racing]] is ''never do something in a race you have not practiced in training''. To avoid breaking this rule, it is necessary to do some race simulation. One way of simulating the race is to run a half marathon sometime towards the end of your training program. This provides a way to simulate the race and evaluate your fitness at the same time. However, a half marathon can be a little too short for simulating the full marathon. For instance, refueling can become harder as the race progresses and these issues may not be seen until after the 13 mile point. For experienced marathon runners, it may be practical to run a full marathon at a slower pace as preparation and simulation. I know of other runners who use part of a full marathon, either joining after a few miles or dropping before the end. However, the easiest form of race simulation is to use long training runs. The simulation is not perfect, but with some forethought and effort it can be made reasonably close.
==Training Mistake 9 - Taper mistakes==
''Main articles: [[Practical Tapering]], [[Tapering Tips]], & [[The Science of Tapering 101]]''
There are many mistakes that can be made during the taper, but the most common I see is a lack of intensity. Many marathon runners reduce both training volume and training intensity, but the science shows that it is important to maintain the training intensity while reducing the volume. Personally, I have found the most effective approach is to reduce training volume significantly, while aiming to run primarily at race pace. There is evidence that running economy improves most at the most common training pace, so training at marathon pace during the taper can help optimize for that pace. It also helps build a sense of the correct pace and establishes familiarity and comfort with the pace. The runs during the taper do not need to be particularly long, as endurance adaptation is believed to take several weeks. The other common taper mistake is around duration. The optimum taper appears to be about two weeks, and it may be that three weeks is a little long for many people. Occasionally, runners will cut the taper too short but this seems to be relatively rare. The timing of the last long run is covered in [[Practical Tapering]]. (I didn't see [[Taper Psychosis]] as a mistake, but just a natural part of racing.)