and carbohydrate drink at each of the aid stations. I’m mystified by this cramp. Did I do something wrong?A First of all, drinking four to five litres of fluid in the 48 hours before a marathon is about right. A person generally needs a millilitre of fluid

performances will suffer. When you race all-out too often, your body secretes less cortisol, a hormone that aids recovery, and it slowly becomes immune to the hormone's effects. The result is constant fatigue and a depressed immune system. A good rule of thumb

© 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

Every good marathon-training plan should ‘taper’ during the final two or three weeks. That means you run less and rest more. For some people, the idea of backing off on their training just before the big race seems counter-intuitive. "So many

wry smile. My knee, bending as I deepen the squat, starts to wobble uncontrollably.I'm at an Ironman bootcamp organised by K-Swiss, footwear and run course sponsor of Ironman UK. Gordon and I have a deal: he will tell me how a first-timer should

, author of Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon (£9.40, Broadway Books), ran his first marathon at age 12. "I think it hurt my career to go to the marathon so young," he says. Today, he doesn't advise kids to begin racing marathons as young as he did

in a race, I go through a check list of what I need to do when I'm in the first transition and in what order."Hollie Avil"I tie my bike shoes to my bike with elastic bands and always cover the shoes in talc and vaseline so I can slide my feet in easily

every hour after the first hour of running.AdminBefore you leaveCheck that you’re wearing your race number and, if relevant, you have your ChampionChip secured to your shoe. You won’t get a finish time without them.Check that you’ve got your post-race

in Dorney Lake, the rowing venue for the 2012 Olympic Games, before a bike section on a traffic-free circuit around the lake, and a run up and down the side of the lake.MUST-KNOW This is the perfect race if friends and family want to support your first foray

split? icclesuezA. The best strategy for a steady pace through the second half is to run it right in the first half - evenly and at a pace that your training and shorter races indicate is feasible. It's not easy maintaining pace when you are tired