and the city centre. And, of course, after the Games the athletes' village will become homes for 10,000 underprivileged people. As the plan is for the London Games to be held in an area of the capital that is ripe for regeneration, I don’t see why we shouldn

and Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist, describes a race he first ran in 1973, when he finished second to the American Frank Shorter.“You go across some fields, then alongside the smelliest river you have ever known in your life, jumping over holes in the canal

!" While there's no point in kicking over the last 200m if you don't have the natural strength and speed to maintain it, you certainly don't want to finish feeling that you could have gone harder.Don't forget to cool downFinish with a cool-down jog for 10

lift, which gives a long stride. All the running is done at 95-100 per cent effort, with long recoveries. Try the following sessions:‘Pyramid’ sessions, starting with 150m and moving up to 170m, 190m, 200m and down again, with a walk-back recovery of 90

dotted by right royal horse manure, this was an event designed to make any passing tourist weep with joy.The 6,000 runners who turned up for Sunday's unseasonably hot 1pm start seemed pretty impressed, too. It was hard not to be. There's something oddly

We Brits were once in love with the mile. From the 1850s to the end of the 19th century, UK athletes dominated the world rankings. In 1954, Roger Bannister finally did what many thought impossible: breaking the elusive four-minute mile barrier

on the back of an envelope. In 1886 a British man, Walter George, ran a 4:12.8 mile. The mile record dropped by a little more than 13 seconds in the 68 years leading up to Bannister's 3:59.4. In the 50 years since Bannister, the record has dropped another 16.3

, and find what they like.You're well known for your 100-plus-mile weekly training schedule each week. How do you find time to sleep?(Chris Leigh 3)I sleep a lot! I get 10 hours or so at night, and another two in the afternoon between 2 and 4 o'clock. I

two or three intervals with five-minute recoveries), or do a continuous 25-minute tempo run at a pace that’s 12-15 seconds per mile slower than your usual 10K race pace. TaperIt’s tempting to think that extra time spent training in the last weeks

10-15 miles beforehand. Then at least you'll be doing the 'last' 6 miles of your training run with the crowds, which will keep you going. If you decide to do the extra miles after the 10K race, make sure you run much slower than your 10K race pace