Further than a half-marathon, but not so long that it'll scupper the following week's training, the UK's 20-mile races are the unsung heroes of spring marathon training.Swap your usual long run for a 20-mile tune-up, and from busy start lines
I've ticked most of the 'must-do' boxes in my 20 years of running, from 5Ks to marathons, a multi-day event and even a night run. But I've never raced a mile, attempted cross-country or donned fancy dress. Nor have I run a European city marathon
and seeing your performances tailing off. With that in mind, heres how many races we recommend you do in the three months before tackling a PB:Mile: One 5K, two 800m and four 1500m or mile races. Ideally no more than 10 1500m/mile races in a year.5K: One
Standfirst: Author: Bruce TullohPics:Issue date: nov98 /panelKeywords:--Target time: 60-70 minutes Mileage: 40-45 per weekWeek OneMon 4 miles easyTue 5 miles easy fartlekWed 4-5 miles steadyThu 10 mins easy, 10 mins THR, 10 mins steadyFri Rest
. This is only to be recommended to those who are already accustomed to running 50 miles per week or more.Week OneMon 6 miles easy or steadyTue 7 miles fartlek, inc 12 x 1 min burstsWed 15 mins easy, 2 x 10 mins THR with 3 min recoveries, 10 mins jogFri Rest
will make 10-mile race pace easier for you to handle:Warm up by jogging easily for two miles, and then run four miles at a tempo 15 seconds per mile slower than your 10K speed. Cool down with an easy one-mile jog.Alternatively, simply run easily for three
, September's six-day, 175-mile Marathon of Britain is an off-road tour of hidden parts of England that most of us have only ever sped through on the motorway. It's organised by one of the friendliest, most charismatic people on the planet, and it's already a
stretching and a few strides, then pick the session that corresponds with your weekend race.5KThis one is called a fast-finish mile. Run one mile with the first half at 10K race pace and the second half 16-20 seconds faster. Recover with six to eight minutes
-level schedules he recalled the story of Graham Williamson, one of the athletes he coached in the mid-1980s. Williamson had been injured and was avoiding speedwork until the three weeks before a big mile race. Even then he only did a total of four sessions
than 5K race pace. Then, after three to five minutes of easy jog recovery, run one mile at your 5K race pace (this would be about 5:15 to 5:20 based on your PB of 16:32). Jog 800 metres to recover, then run 800 metres at slightly faster than 5K race
