they were to look at, they were almost impossible to run on. Most of us were reduced to a slow walk: most. The winner whipped through the stage in a staggering 2:41. The first Brit was Tobias Mews, who finished in 3:42, with Jen Salter the first British

to the track. He’s been running for 20 years, which is a long time by Kenyan standards, and now coaches army runners. Today he’s pacing a young athlete Doris Jerop around the track. They sprint 300m then walk the final 100m slowly to recover before setting off

I’ve come to Iten, a small village overlooking the Great Rift Valley, to discover why Kenyan runners are so dominant right now. The benefits of training at altitude play their part – we’re at 2,400m, which means that walking upstairs causes the kind

-second recovery between each, then 8 times 100m. If you can run 100m repeats with fatigue in your legs, you’ll be a winner. This session has everything and I encourage everyone from 1500m runners to 5K and 10K runners to do it.” That explains how

At just 17.5K, the final stage of the 26th Marathon des Sables was the shortest by far but still proved to be challenging. It was another hot day - although once the temperature rises above 40C it's hard to differentiate between simply hot

Stage 5: 42KToday was the marathon stage of the race. I managed to run the first half - I'd become bored with walking and wanted to test myself, but at the second checkpoint, at the 24K-mark, and with the temperature hovering around 50C, I took a

become part of running folklore. Race website: www.comrades.comSpar/Mercury Women’s 10K, Durban (June)2009 Date: tbc This is one of six in a national series of women’s 10K races, and by far the biggest of the series. Around 16,000 women – and a few cross

be proud.Typical training weekMondayGym: half an hour of weight training TuesdayTrack session: Five miles of effort, eg pyramid 2,000m, 1,600m, 1,200m, 800m, 1,200m, 1,600m, 2,000m WednesdayAM Swim 1,000m including some arms/legs onlyPM One hour steady run

might think the average temperature of minus 20 degrees C and strong katabatic winds will be the biggest challenge, but the altitude of 10,000 feet and hilly course play their part too in making this a truly tough event. Run at 80 degrees south, just a

stage wondering if I could do well at the MdS. On paper I'm an okay runner. I was first lady at the 2006 North Pole Marathon, second lady at the Himalayan 100-mile stage race in 2005 and I have a respectable marathon PB of 3:14. But after developing bad