the night before, owing to nerves, and they still race really well. The best sleep comes when you're more relaxed."2. Fuel yourselfYou need to eat well to have energy, so the night before the race eat pasta with red pepper and tomato sauce, followed by low-fat

of champions It's vital every day, but breakfast is absolutely essential on race day. You will have burnt 400-600kcal overnight. Try to eat at least two hours before start time and your meal should be high in carbohydrate, modest in protein, and low in fat

© Getty Images The two Olympic marathons held last August in Beijing were literally races for the ages. Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru, then 21, broke more than an Olympic record with his 2:06:32 win; he crushed long-held conventional

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