marathoner. Your final challenge: to get them to the start, cheer them on the way round, and be there with a smile and a gentle hug at the finish. Here's how to do it: Before the raceDuring the 24 hours before the marathon, some runners are excited, all

/walked slowing at every mile marker to sip drinks, says Lennonesque. “All manner of life, flora and fauna, accelerated past me. Camels, wookies, caterpillars – I saw them all zoom by.”Racing through the showers at mile 17Mile 11This is a crucial time

time accordingly. Think about it: the swim leg accounts for roughly 10 per cent of your race, around 60 per cent of your time is spent on the bike and the remaining 30 per cent on the run. If you want to compete, rather than simply finish, you'll need

distance for beginners - in fact, you could be toeing the line just a few weeks after you take your first running steps. Find a race Every spring/summer, Britain sees thousands of women line up for the Cancer Research UK Race for Life 5K events

schedule aimed at the Great North Run in late September. Our weekly half-marathon email will keep you on top of your training, and on course for a best-ever race-day performance. Each bite-sized bulletin will contain a digest of your schedule (sub-1

© 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

Standfirst: Author: Sean Fishpool and Bud BaldaroPics: Tim De FriscoIssue date: sep99 / Perfect 10 panelKeywords:--Problem:I’ve never raced that far beforeSolution:No problem. First of all, remind yourself that if you can walk six miles, you

-trained at the start, and cross the finish line smiling. It can be done. With a little patience, you can have the best marathon experience of your life.There are two key features to this plan. First, all the training is ‘time-based’. There are no miles to keep track of

yourself further. When you're feeling bad about a race time, just think back to life before you started running and how lucky you are that you have the health to do it. None of us should ever take that for granted. – Petite OiseauLearn to see

and I think that's important.Louise Jones, sport psychologist at theTriLife.co.uk, says that minding your manners is about more than just maintaining the sport's reputation: observing proper etiquette can actually improve your performance."For a positive