in on soft ground combined with hills to build strength. They helped me out so much on race weekend, by giving me the mental strength, a place to stay in London and a great pasta feast, not to mention fighting the crowds in the London Underground to cheer me

in and I tried to read as much advice as I could. I settled for a training plan that began seriously in January 2005 and took me through until the race day. This included short runs, hill runs and quicker runs during the week, and some pretty tough long

. After racing the Finchley 20 in under 2:52 as part of my training - with a cold - I felt terrible. The weather was freezing and there were hills, little crowd support and four laps of the same route. I couldn't stop shivering after the race and ended up

runner, and finished in 4:28, running as Big Ron.As we are getting off the very crowded special train at Maze Hill for the red start at Greenwich one runner sees three policemen on duty."What on earth are they here for? There's a great atmosphere - nobody

Ironman is hilly or you are weak on the hills. Work on your weaknesses.Do not be afraid to stop during your ride to go to the toilet (wanting to go to the toilet can stop you drinking) and also stop to get more drinks. This is far more important than

resistance as you increase your effort. The ride was certainly smooth, with a good progressive increase in resistance when clicking up through your gears, though this is best for simulating flat-terrain riding rather than hills. The bike clamping system

find it. Why not consider some of the adventure racing or navigation courses out there? Or at least get yourself some fell running guidebooks to start off with.ed_m (a.k.a. ultra bunny) You already hike so you know what the hills can throw at you

for as long as you want. What’s more, there are thousands of people around you who know what you’ve just been through and can swap yarns with you about that hill at mile 11, or the quiet stretch of road at the beginning. With the Channel swim, there was none

crowds of supporters and fellow runners restores your faith in humanity...”Acer, 3:44, “...after two unsuccessful attempts at sub-4 hour, a winter of hills and speed sessions paid off for me...”G. Wickens, 4:49, “...I'll be 50 this year and I wanted to do

with the hills, check for the locations of the drinks stations and take note of any areas of rough ground." Once you've taken the lie of the land, Thompson suggests that you return to your race goals and make sure that they're still do-able. "If you've gained