To run additional goals after release preparation but before committing, specify them using the preparationGoals property.
<project> [...] <build> [...] <plugins> [...] <plugin> <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId> <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId> <version>2.5.2</version> <configuration> <preparationGoals>clean verify</preparationGoals> </configuration> </plugin> [...] </plugins> [...] </build> [...] </project>