pacing strategies affect race results. They asked 11 experienced female runners to run 5K on a treadmill to determine their average for the distance. The runners were then asked to run 5K again, but tackling the first 1.63K at different speeds: once

pacing strategies affect race results. They asked 11 experienced female runners to run 5K on a treadmill to determine their average for the distance. The runners were then asked to run 5K again, but tackling the first 1.63K at different speeds: once

Performing Edge (£14.50, Stackpole Books). Along with your workouts, write in your training log how motivated, focused, energised or confident you felt on a scale of one to 10. "Maybe you scribble a three next to 'focused' a few days in row," she says. "So

, 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

, 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

where you can even contemplate this sort of activity. Only speed up in the last mile (1-2km) for a 5K, two miles (3km) for a 10K, and three miles for a half-marathon. The 3 p’sAt its core, performing well in a race is founded on three basic

. At Ironman New Zealand in 1997, men expended, on average, 10,036 calories and consumed 3,940. Women burned 9,253 calories and consumed 3,115.Aim to take in around 250 calories an hour from food, and roughly the same from sports drinks. Studies suggest

'.But despite all the hours of putting left after right, if you're not prepared to provide your body with the fuel it needs along the way to the finish line, you won't get there half as quickly as you'd planned. A race nutrition strategy is as important to your

training plan, diet and race-day strategy. "Every race is a puzzle," says coach Jeff Horowitz, author of My First 100 Marathons (£15.99, Skyhorse Publishing). "Look for clues to solve it." Did you rest enough during your taper? Did you go out too fast? Did