the afternoon, until long after your thirst feels quenched.You settle down to do some serious stretching Think twice: contrary to our normal racing advice, you should stretch only very lightly after a marathon, if at all. Your muscle fibres will be riddled
1. Sleep well"In reality, trying to sleep well the night before a race never works," says triathlon coach Rick Kiddle (www.rickkiddle.com). "The best sleep will be the night before the night before. Many athletes can survive with little sleep
health to take part in the world’s greatest race.During the raceFocus – but focus on the moment, not on how many miles remain. Think about your form, breathing and pace. This will build confidence and help you to remain relaxed. It’s only natural for your
. Marathon pace for a 3:45 marathon is an 8:35-minute mile so yes, 8:30 is too fast. Aim to run your long runs slower than your marathon race pace and then add in some sections at race pace ( for example, three x 15 minute bursts or a 60-minute stretch) when
in every race when you really dig deep, but you dont want to face it too soon. Ideally you want to put it off until you can visualise pushing strongly through the last stretch whether thats 200m or a mile without anything being able to hold you back
muscles you can improve your respiratory efficiency. Do power breathing as part of your warm-up and before your race because this can help you to run faster. Take a long, deep breath and then exhale hard out through the mouth and repeat 10 times." Mick
London callingYour 2005 Flora London Marathon stories form some of the most uplifing pages we've published. If you haven't dipped into them, you really owe it to youself. Meanwhile, here's a mile by mile guide to the race itself, from some of those
