helps you reduce your time on the ground per footstrike by just 0.02 of a second, an almost infinitesimal change, your marathon time will be 12:36 faster (0.02 x 37,800 strides). And if the same improvement in leg-muscle power helps to improve your

target half-marathon pace (85% WHR). 'Brisk' sometimes refers to half-marathon pace while 'threshold' refers to 10-mile pace. Often described as feeling 'comfortably hard', aim to hit about an 8 on a perceived-exertion scale of 10. Fast – your 5K or 10K

honestly say that there wasn't a worst moment as it was my first Marathon (London or otherwise) and it all went to plan. I had dreams of running sub 3:15 but only had two proper half marathons to base it on as only started running seriously last July '03. I

Steady - a comfortable, but purposeful, pace. About marathon pace -158-168Brisk (or Threshold (THR)) - around your target half-marathon pace-174-182Fast-10K-180-188Fast-5K-186-194Fast-above-5K-192-198Enter your race date:  (dd/mm/yyyy)Finished? When you

Time: 2:51This was only my second marathon; I ran Belfast last year in 3:11, but did not really do the full training. This year I followed the sub 3hr schedule and felt really confident that I could break 3hrs. I ran 2:51, so can I say a big thank

Q After running a sub-3:00 marathon in my mid-30s, I spent the next 17 years running only occasionally. But last year, to celebrate my 50th, I returned to serious training for the Flora London Marathon. I finished in 3:28, and this has got me

times at shorter distances. Your long runs don’t need to be longer than 10-12 miles. Shorter runs should become more prominent in your weekly schedule, especially tempo runs at around 80-85 per cent of your maximum heart rate over two or three miles. Try

marathon, the 10K is still an aerobic event, so training should follow the classic lines of developing and maintaining an aerobic base then adding relevant speedwork on top. The legendary coach Arthur Lydiard advocated building a base of long, steady runs

quicker pace for 15-20 minutes before relaxing and finishing the run at a slower pace. And remember, the ‘tempo’ part of the run doesn’t need to be done flat out. Aim for your half-marathon pace, around 80 to 85 per cent of your working heart rate.If you

being over-confident?A There’s certainly a larger difference than you appear to acknowledge between 3:00, 3:10 and 3:30 marathon times, and if you’re in any doubt about your capabilities, a compromise target of 3:15 might not be a bad idea. It would