If transition is triathlon's fourth discipline, nutrition should be the fifth. Making fuelling mistakes could mean your race ends in disaster. And the longer the event, the more critical your food and drink strategy becomes. But it's not easy

Q. I want to practise my nutrition for race day but my trainer says I should wait until a few weeks before the race so I get the maximum benefit - is he right?A. It's imperative that you experiment during training to find out what will work best

time accordingly. Think about it: the swim leg accounts for roughly 10 per cent of your race, around 60 per cent of your time is spent on the bike and the remaining 30 per cent on the run. If you want to compete, rather than simply finish, you'll need

Q I was disappointed to get cramp at the 15-mile mark during a recent marathon. In the 48 hours before the race, I consumed plenty of carbohydrates and drank approximately four to five litres of water. During the race I drank plenty of water

Q This may sound silly, but I have real problems drinking during races. Usually I grab a cup, spill most of the contents as I’m picking it up, get one tiny slurp of water and then spill the rest down the front of my vest. Any tips to help me

Q While running my last few marathons, I have felt nauseous from around 18 miles, and have vomited after finishing. I know runners need to keep hydrated, but taking on fluids seems to aggravate the problem. I’m also worried about over-hydration. What would you advise to solve th...

. With a sub-3:00 target I started the race at 6:30 pace (to allow for a little slowing), which I maintained perfectly through 10 miles and the halfway point. Then people started to pass me, and by mile 19 I was running at 7:45 pace and still slowing. I

also offer protection against some cancers.Red PotatoesThe humble - and let's be honest, it's not much to look at - potato has had a bad reputation in terms of nutrition because we have a habit of frying it in fat, covering it with cheese or mixing

yourself before and after a session. (One kilogram of weight loss is equivalent to one litre of fluid.) Once you know your sweat loss you can prepare your fluid-replacement strategy for training and races.Pre-planningFor an event such as Ironman Nice ensure

However long you've been running, and whatever your age or ambition, chances are you'll have questions. How can you improve your race times? What's the perfect race day diet? How can you avoid overtraining? Well, now you can pose your questions