for the Olympics, for example, must peak for an arduous trials process, then ramp up their performance again to place well at the Games themselves. When you keep returning to the well like this, how can you make sure the bucket doesn't come up empty? A

of Medical Science for Sport and Exercise showed that speed at lactate threshold is the best physiological predictor of distance-running performance. Indeed, Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic marathon champion was said to have had a modestly high VO2max

Many elite runners plan their racing calendars a year or more in advance. There are some right now who know that in order to be on the starting line of an Olympic final in Beijing in August 2008, they need to hit an A-standard qualifying time in a

What is the proper mileage to succeed in distances from 5K to a marathon?" I once asked a colleague who has coached many runners to collegiate and Olympic glory. "That's easy," he said. "You want to run as few miles as you can and still win

. A little more than a year later, they became famous for something else: their Olympic gold medals – Vasala in the 1500m and Viren in the 5000m and 10,000m. Pure coincidence? I don’t think so.By now I’m sure you can use the word fartlek in polite