When to Taper

Advice I'm getting lately is against what I've read nationally. I read that 45 days is the accepted start to taper for a "hundred". I have 42 days left.
What I'm getting from all the Leadville veterans, though, is that I should begin tapering just 14 days out.
So my schedule hasn't changed, but the intensity has. I'll continue to train fairly hard, but if anything starts feeling like it's about to disintegrate (like a week ago), then I'll back off. I've been training in an exhausted state. I don't want to train in an exhausted state anymore. I want to recover from each event before hammering myself again.

Outbound, the pass east of Ball Mtn.
Tomorrow is the Leadville Marathon, which I'd like to run hard. Last year, I ran well. When I finished, I looked with disgust and embarassment at the clock, but 5:22 is very good for the Leadville Marathon. So I can only hope for a repeat of Steamboat, where I ran well the year before but PR'd anyways. Analyzing last year's time, it looks as though I hadn't warmed up beforehand. So if I jog a couple of miles before the race, I should do much better. And if I fuel properly I'll have more juice at the end. Last year I started to bonk the last few miles. Hoping for 5-7 minutes off last year's time.
I feel great. I'm ready to race. Race day, though, I can never guess how I'll feel. Luck-of-the-draw. But I intend to try hard to beat last year's time.