it in my head that I want to do the Southend half-marathon on 10 June – exactly two weeks after Edinburgh. I've been told by my friend's bloke, a seasoned marathon runner, that it's a horrendous idea. Is he right? Given that it's my first marathon, I

as you get older. Comparing notes with some V60s a few weeks back, most of us found that running a flat-out 10 mile or half marathon can take up to two weeks' recovery before any hard speed work. – Johnny JNote every niggle and work on preventionI suppose

100 miles and raised more than £500; by 6.30pm the pot was up to £950, and an hour later, members had covered 400 miles. By the end of Thursday, the count was 555 miles - and at the time of writing, on Monday morning, £1,120 has been raised. In Liz

think it's to do with endorphins, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Any advice, folks?" – highyYour best answers...1: Cool shower. 2: Good book. 3: Bedroom window open. 4: Ovaltine. 5: Someone special to tuck you in. # 1-4 recommended; # 5 essential

This week's reader completed the London Marathon using a run/walk strategy – but she now wants to cut out the walks altogether, and it's not proving too easy. Can you offer any advice? "I'm getting really annoyed with myself. I trained for FLM using

have to do it during the session, and this can have a major impact on your time. People say they want to conserve energy before a race, but I read somewhere that the body (liver) stores up to about 2,000 calories in glycogen. At marathon pace

it will transform your running and racing. I now do one day of speedwork, one fast-paced 7-miler, one 10-20 miler and one other run. I felt I haven't been doing enough, but my running is getting better and better all the time. It might be useful to get someone to do

, but when I take a day off my appetite drops and I feel sluggish. After four years of running I've done two marathons, 3:58 and 3:41, so surely I'm doing something right?" – Little LizardYour best answersIf you feel fine, you're getting enough restIt depends

does help with birth and recovery. – annajoApparently I'm pregnant too (five weeks!) and I'm intending to keep on running. The three bits of advice from my previous pregnancy are:1 - Sports bra2 - Sports bra3 - Sports bra– Acorn AmblerAnd finally

cushion unless your backside is sufficiently padded to start with. – SnapstingetI learned the hard way that it's essential to do cross training to maintain running capability. I ran a lot from 1985-2000, 40+ miles per week and races once a month. All I did