destruction. The force of the foot striking the ground during fast training or racing is to blame. ‘Blood destruction occurs more in high-mileage runners who have slapping or stomping gaits,’ says Dr Eichner. Other studies showed gastrointestinal bleeding

wetsuit on then visualise the race route in my head from beginning to end. Once the gun goes off you are just executing the race as you have prepared in training, taking every stroke, pedal and foot step as they come."Scott Neyedli, UK Ironman Champion

-road terrain is that you are running on an uneven surface, so you need to prepare your body for that," says Barden. "If you were to do all of your training on the road, you might initially feel OK in a cross-country race, but your body will fatigue a lot

You've done the hard part. The weeks of training are behind you and now you're looking forward to the race. You're ready to pit yourself against each discipline as well as fellow competitors to find out if your training's paid off, but your physical

, Florida. The best 100 triathletes in Wimbleball earn themselves a place for the American race, which could ultimately open a door to the prize of a place at the Ironman World Championships finale in Hawaii.The triathlon starts with a swim in the flooded