1. Southport MAD DOG Seaside 10K, MerseysideDate in 2012: February 12This year’s 10K top dog, a flat race taking in town, country and seaside scenery, also comes highly recommended for beginners. With chip timing, a medal, a techical tee memento (in

comprised of two cups of wholegrain cereal with skimmed milk, a bagel with low-fat cream cheese, orange juice and coffee (which adds up to around 800 calories, 140g carbs, 30g protein and 13g fat). Then have a midmorning snack that's mostly carbohydrate

nutritionist Dr Janet Walberg Rankin. "They eat bagels for breakfast, pasta for lunch, and rice for dinner," she says. Her advice is to concentrate more on fruit and vegetables, and also to eat lean meats to guarantee a good supply of high-quality iron.Get some

sports drink or a piece of fruit Consume during: Water (if necessary) Consume post-run: 300ml reduced-fat chocolate milk, or 170ml yoghurt with 15g high-fibre cereal60+ Minute run Consume pre-run: 45g cereal with 230ml skimmed milk, or 20g trail mix

light, pre-run snack to work.Remember the following three points as you run:1) Timing Eat one to four hours before your run to allow enough time to food to leave your stomach.2) Quantity Eat 100-400 calories, depending upon your body size and what you

’t think of that final plate of pasta on the eve of the race as your last meal. Your body will use up some of that food energy overnight, so make sure you have breakfast. European 5000 and 10,000m champion Sonia O’Sullivan chooses bread or cereal, coffee

it be that they're attracted to this two-lap 13.1-miler because of its excellent organisation, upbeat marshals and the opportunity to enjoy an undulating run on closed roads through shaded woodland?Join around 1,000 other runners and find out for yourself

for this as they are full of Omega-3 unsaturated fat, protein and a nutrient called CoQ10, which helps cells produce energy. Unlike runners downing caffeine-based gels, your energy levels won't crash when the effects wear off.Dried fruit is among the runner's best friends

of 10 miles in January, 12-13 in February and 15 in March, while the sub-3:30 crowd should be doing regular runs of 15 miles in February and aiming to run 18-20 in their longest runs in March. As for the sub-three brigade, if you can make your five

, as the locals turn out in force to cheer some 1,100 runners round the undulating, two-lap traffic-free course. Well established on the north-east racing agenda, this year marks the event’s 20th anniversary, and a concurrent 3K race for 11-16s and a beginners