Leeds Marathon: Sunday, May 12WHY RUN IT?Atmosphere, value for moneyA long-established city marathon, which finishes outside the town hall, in the city centre.FEES£9.50/£10.50, payable to Leeds City Council by April 19. No entries on day

be a runner. Trust me. It won’t be long before you learn that I’m right.The beginning of your life as a runner just might be the most exciting time in your entire running career. Of course, you won’t necessarily realize that at the time. It may take

to incorporate some faster running into your programme. Your three long runs a week will have helped you form an excellent endurance base on which to build, but if you stick to this routine your pace will improve only very slowly, and you risk getting

bottle won't weigh you down when running shorter distances and can be refilled if you're running long.Two 5oz gel holders mean you can take your favourite fuel and skip crowded fuel stations during races. With room for keys, money or even an energy bar

excellent cross-training for running, but to run a half-marathon well you also have to get used to spending a long time on your feet. I suggest that you use the days when you run to get in as many miles as possible – maybe a 15-16 mile run on the Sunday, a

as your spine compensates, resulting in a scoliosis. If this is the case, your GP is probably right: the long-term pounding of running is likely to aggravate your back, and could lead to arthritic changes and pain later in life. If you do not have ‘wedging

running over 400-1000m stretches, but your long runs should be really slow. The crucial question is how long you can train hard without taking a rest. A lot of our top marathon runners cover 100 miles a week for most of the year, but the elite cannot

, leaving legs fresh and ready to run.If you want to... Increase enduranceBuild on this: Long ride to long runIf long runs bore you, but you need to pack in more mileage, try an endurance session in the saddle. "If the total length of the session

per week). I did no more than three runs a week and maybe a three-hour bike session every fortnight or so, but I did start to do longer runs earlier on in the schedule. – fat facePrioritise long runs to make sure you last the distanceFor the 20 weeks

focused with my preparation – I made sure I did my regular long, slow runs, and I made a point of doing threshold runs, building up from 25 minutes to 35 or 45 minutes near 10-mile pace. I knew it was going to be hard work, and I just prepared myself