, but was able to run at a high percentage of VO2max before reaching his lactate threshold. Untrained individuals may reach their lactate threshold at 50-60 per cent of VO2max, elite endurance runners at 70-90 per cent. By training at or slightly above

If your training peaked for a summer race but you hope to perform well in an autumn event too, you're not that different from an elite athlete who has multiple goals (save, perhaps, for a minute or two per mile). Runners looking to qualify

.Run variedWhile there are thousands of speedwork variations (top British coach Alan Storey claims never to set the same session twice), most runners tend to stick to their tried and tested stock sessions. One week 400s, next week 800s, the following week

: September 5The fast, flat route of this popular marathon attracts every kind of runner from first-timer to elite. In 2008 more than 23,000 competitors from 60 countries tackled the two-lap city-centre course past many of Amsterdam’s premier tourist

few non-Italian athletes in the races, there is a Welsh group that makes the trip each year.At the elite level, British runners have always featured strongly, Mike Turner and Dave Bedford have won the men’s event, Bedford recalling little other than

-bad-race stages will help you reset your mindset.1. Immediately after: WALLOW (A BIT)"It's natural to be disheartened when things get tough," says Mark O'Hara, author of The Winner's Monologue. Cry, mope, blog, vent to a fellow runner. Do what you need to for a

to pieces."We would like to be robots who can turn the dial to goal pace and just run, but we're human," says Greg McMillan (mcmillanrunning.com), who has coached elite runners, including several Olympians. "When we encounter a slight hill or turn, it makes

.The Mass FieldOf course the race is more than just about the world's elite and runners chasing Olympic spots however runners throughout the field were helped to personal bests and key target times by some solid leadership from the Runner's World pacers

1. Flora London Marathon Where: London When: April 26It’s the big one. Twenty-eight years of racing; 35,000 runners; and 26.2 miles around the streets of London. For runners of all kinds from the international elite to run/walkers, the Flora

Unlike the majority of amateur runners, many elite athletes land on their forefoot rather than their heel when running. In recent years this method of running has come to the fore - it's even possible to buy running trainers designed to help you make the transition