and transfer their un-tapped glycogen reserves to working muscles – once it’s inside a muscle cell, it stays there until it’s metabolised. "This is why many marathon runners prefer courses with periodic elevation changes, which allow glycogen reserves

if there are any complications. Good luck! – Angie JacksonI ran during two pregnancies. If you've always been a runner, carry on. I ran three half-marathons when pregnant, finishing when I was six and a half months, as it got too uncomfortable. Just lower your

at Pikes, I’d entered on a whim, overconfident and undertrained, and I’d lumbered to the finish line, 13.3 miles and 7,815 feet above the start, thoroughly spanked. The next year, I'd come prepared to expect a finish time akin to a road marathon. I'd upped

, but this can backfire in a marathon. Women seem perfectly content to find a comfort zone and stay there. This makes them ideally suited for the marathon – the ultimate keep-your-cool and keep-your-pace distance. So why not be bold and set your sights on a

an Olympic Marathon, "the words pain and suffering very rarely come up", says Rojas. "What comes up is 'I relaxed', 'I focused', 'I stayed calm'." But why seek that pain at all? "It's an amazing thing for people outside of running to get their heads