runners had trained hard and were mentally prepared for the challenge but the pair adopted completely different approaches to race strategies.Radcliffe set the pace, as she had in all her previous marathons, daring the other runners to keep up with her

runners had trained hard and were mentally prepared for the challenge but the pair adopted completely different approaches to race strategies.Radcliffe set the pace, as she had in all her previous marathons, daring the other runners to keep up with her

Racing well is as much a product of mental strength as physical readiness, whether you're out to nail a PB or just finish. Too often, though, runners practise mental tricks such as visualisation just a few days before race day - if at all."That's a

, find out what gels and drinks will be available to you on race day and try them out.Racing overseasOther considerations will come into play if you are travelling abroad to race, such as how food and hydration strategies change with the climate, what

strategies to avoid asthma attacks, gut distress, hitting the wall and over-hydration in the full article.Subscribers can view the rest of Race day disasters in the full article. Not a magazine subscriber? Subscribe online now to make a significant saving

, but at the the end my Garmin said 26.7 miles and 3:00:18. Reviewing the data, the GPS seemed to lose its accuracy a bit in the Docklands. What is most annoying  though is that I was not too tired after the race. I'm not too stiff today and know I could have run

Preparing your mind for a long-distance race is just as important as preparing your body, says Chrissie Wellington. If that's what the three-time Ironman World Champion and world record holder thinks, then that's good enough for the rest of us. So

Yet too often disaster strikes on race day – we’re hobbled by cramp, gutted by stomach distress or hampered by unforeseen demons. To help you dodge all this, runners have shared their tales of race days gone bad. For the common horror stories, our

Here's how to race on the right foot – from the people who learnt the hard wayStart SmallThe best way to approach racing is to start small. Whether you’re planning to do your race as a one-off, or as the first step in a long running career, you

and on race day as it does from completing the right training.By race day, your training is in the bank, but fuelling is one area where you can make improvements or create problems that could cost you valuable minutes or hours, or even lead to the dreaded DNF