Warm up, then 3 x 1 mile at 10K pace, with 5-minute restsDay 3 6 miles easyDay 4 As Day 1, on a different routeDay 5 RestDay 6 6 x 800m OR 6 x 3 minutes, with 2-minute recoveriesDay 7 1 hour easy, off-roadIf your goals are shorter, track-based distances

up, 14 x 400m at 5K pace, with 60 sec recoveriesWed 6 miles easyThu 2 miles easy, 20 + 10 mins THR, 2 miles easyFri Rest OR 25 mins jogSat 3 x 2 miles at 10K paceSun 12-13 miles steadyTOTAL: 52-55 milesWeek SevenMon 6 miles easy, off-roadTue 8

miles steady paceWed Warm up, then 3-4 x 1 mile at 10K pace, with 3 min recoveriesThu 6-7 miles easyFri RestSat 10 mins easy, then 20 + 10 mins THR, with 3 min recoveriesSun 10-12 miles easyTOTAL: 45 miles approxWeek SevenMon 2 miles easy, 2 miles

easy 8M fartlek on grass, inc 20 x 30 secs (approx) 3M jog 5M, no pressure 3M warm-up, then 5-6M race (not flat-out) or 13-15M steadyWEEK 10 5M easy, off-road 6-8M at a comfortable pace 2 x (8 x 200m) fast, on grass, with 1-min recoveries 6M easy, inc 1

lift, which gives a long stride. All the running is done at 95-100 per cent effort, with long recoveries. Try the following sessions:‘Pyramid’ sessions, starting with 150m and moving up to 170m, 190m, 200m and down again, with a walk-back recovery of 90

mins THR, 3 mins jog, 10 mins THRSun 10-12 miles easyTOTAL: 35 milesWeek SevenDay 1 35 mins fartlekDay 2 Warm up, then 10 x 400m with 90-sec recoveries, 10 mins jogDay 3 35-40 mins steadySat Warm up, then 4 x 5 mins fast, then 13 mins jogSun 2

10-12M steadyWEEK 9 5M easy 5M, inc 16 x 1 min fast, 1 min slow Warm up, then 2 x 2M (approx), timed, at threshold pace 5-6M easy Rest or 3M jog 1M easy, then 4-5M fairly fast, then 1M jog 10M steadyWEEK 10 5M easy 6-7M at a comfortable pace Warm up

excellent cross-training for running, but to run a half-marathon well you also have to get used to spending a long time on your feet. I suggest that you use the days when you run to get in as many miles as possible – maybe a 15-16 mile run on the Sunday, a

running over 400-1000m stretches, but your long runs should be really slow. The crucial question is how long you can train hard without taking a rest. A lot of our top marathon runners cover 100 miles a week for most of the year, but the elite cannot

bursts 3M on grass Warm up, then 10K race, then 10 mins walking or joggingWEEK 8 4-5M easy, off-road 1M jog, then 2 x 7-8 mins fast, with 5-min jog recovery 4M on grass, inc several short bursts 11-12M, as slow as you likeWEEK 9 3-4M easy, on soft ground