multiple goals so you won’t come away from the race empty-handed,” says Hays. “Set three finish-time goals - ‘fantastic,’ ‘really good’ and ‘I can live with that.’” These can each be separated by five to 15 minutes. Set general goals, such as not walking

and 20 miles.Your shorter weekday runs shouldn’t be much different from last week’s, but shave a mile or two off your longer mid-week runs from their peak two weeks previously.Generally, weekday training should consist of one medium long run of between

If you're running a marathon this spring, you're about to enter the most critical – and difficult – four weeks of training, when 1) your weekly mileage is at its peak; 2) your motivation may be flagging; and 3) you're most likely to get sidelined

inspired the trend in 1954 with epic sessions like 10 x 200 metres followed by 50 x 400 metres – a combined 13.67 miles of speedwork. Ambitious runners the world over have aspired to that imposing standard ever since, in a quest for that elusive PB