Q I was disappointed to get cramp at the 15-mile mark during a recent marathon. In the 48 hours before the race, I consumed plenty of carbohydrates and drank approximately four to five litres of water. During the race I drank plenty of water

However long you've been running, and whatever your age or ambition, chances are you'll have questions. How can you improve your race times? What's the perfect race day diet? How can you avoid overtraining? Well, now you can pose your questions

to prescribe ferrous sulphate tablets, but you should also look closely at your diet.Strike a balanceA balanced diet should provide adequate iron but, in reality, when you're busy and training (and perhaps trying to lose some weight to improve speed), it can

Standfirst: 4 surefire stride-improvers for mile racingAuthor: Sean Fishpool and Steve SmythePics:Issue date: aug01 /mile panelKeywords:uan59--There’s more to running than running, as any tuned-in coach will tell you. That’s especially the case over

, brisk/THR and fast).If you really can run a sub-3:10, then I’d guess that your paces at these various effort levels would be about 8:00, 7:30, 7:00, 6:30, and 6:00 per mile, respectively. By incorporating a balanced mixture of work at these speeds

The fastest races are run with even splits: world records reveal that, statistically, fast, steady speed yields the best performances. Yet some races demand a tactical rather than  time-trial approach, where occasional and well-timed bursts of speed

yourself before and after a session. (One kilogram of weight loss is equivalent to one litre of fluid.) Once you know your sweat loss you can prepare your fluid-replacement strategy for training and races.Pre-planningFor an event such as Ironman Nice ensure

Standfirst: Author: Owen AndersonPics:Issue date: racing secrets bookletKeywords: uan73--It’s vital to warm up thoroughly before a 10K race. A good warm-up enhances the power of your leg muscles, increases the flow of blood to your heart muscles

without having to think was great – it’s amazing how much confidence you gain from placing a tick over a date and training session. I also got a big boost from doing the races that the schedules prescribed. It makes a big difference when you can see

, the more effective this  strategy can be. Unfortunately, we also tend to recall poor performances, so counter-balance these with good thoughts. As soon as you have a negative thought, visualise yourself getting a surge of energy late into the race, or think