before. Running 26.2 miles places high demands on the body and you’re likely to end up with depleted fuel stores, accumulated fluid in the muscles, dehydration and perhaps some damaged muscle tissue. So, not surprisingly, you will be susceptible to injury

week.1. If it's tough enough for the pros, it's good enough for you"Both sessions here address pace. In a race we need to control our pace and know what paces we can perform at. The difficult discipline is swimming. In a race we cannot keep looking

split? icclesuezA. The best strategy for a steady pace through the second half is to run it right in the first half - evenly and at a pace that your training and shorter races indicate is feasible. It's not easy maintaining pace when you are tired

. More than this and the risk of injury and excessive tiredness far outweigh the small gains available, particularly in running.Take your timeIt's better to have time goals than distance goals for these sessions, to avoid the temptation to race throughout

's time for bed again and we know that sometimes the excitement before a race can manifest itself in unusual ways - don't worry though, if you had a good snooze last night you can indulge. "The old adage that avoiding sex before a race helps you run faster

distance times if you can train close to you what you were doing two years ago and stay fit and healthy and avoid injury.It may be possible to run a long run of just 16 miles and survive but personally I don’t think it’s worth the risk and the majority

and it was almost impossible to avoid abandoned water bottles and other obstacles. I trod on a water bottle and nearly sprained my ankle – by some miracle the pain was temporary and I was able to carry on, but if it had ruined my race I would have been devastated