Cool article on the Daily Camera about the “Zatopek Phenomenon”. Emil Zatopek was the great Czech distance runner who may have inavertedly discovered tapering. Zatopek was known for his legendary training regimen doing 100×400 interval sessions, training in army boots etc. But in 1950 before the European Track Championships, Zatopek ate some bad goose at dinner and was bed ridden for several days with food poisoning. He was released several days before the race…

Zatopek worried he had lost fitness. That was not the case, however. On race day Zatopek felt great. Fully rested, his strong body had finally absorbed the countless miles he had put in through the forests surrounding Prague. He won the gold at the European 10,000 meters, finishing with the world’s second-fastest time.

From then on, such a forced rest before a race has been known as “the Zatopek Phenomenon.”

For more info on tapering for your next race read the rest of this article.