temperatures that dropped to well below zero, and last spring added speedwork to his routine. By May, he was running long runs of two hours 40 minutes, doing six 400m repetitions in 1:45, and had set his sights on a first marathon.A programme can’t get any

, making time to run, sticking to a routine, and not chickening out on speedwork! It’s my build-up race times that are my main concern, funnily enough. I’m a bit of a one-speed wonder, and the thought of a sub-4:30 marathon seems much less scary to me than

long runs that exceed three and a half hours, because they are too debilitating physically. The only time when it's better to train by distance is when you're doing speedwork on the track. Do a dress rehearsal Treat one of your longest runs

for a break, says Alberto Salazar, elite runner-turned-coach. It's better to come in under-prepared than overtrained. Focus on intensity The marathon may be a test of endurance, but speedwork will really help you string together 26 strong miles. Still

hero all week.Things I'd do differently: I can't say for certain, but my injuries all developed when I started adding in the recommended speedwork, so in future I'll just stick to my one-paced stuff. It’s okay for those who want to get PBs

build the endurance and maintain it out of season then use progressive speedwork to come to a peak. The athletes I have coached have made their first big improvement when they have moved on to seven-days-a-week training; the second big improvement comes

’m not worried about it. Just go out and rip it. Walk the last half.I don’t see you doing that. Nah.There was a 10- or 12-minute window today when you took off ahead of these guys. Are you doing any speedwork? It’s very informal. When we ran in Paris recently, we

better. I’ve also got motivational quotes stuck to my fridge! I’m finding bringing my mileage down strange (I’ve never done so little running!) but the schedule includes lots of quality sessions. Personally, I would never have done so much speedwork

always have a kip during the day. Baggieboy Run frequently, easy and early. I try and go out every day at the crack of dawn and go for a short run at easy pace.I find it’s too hot to do anything like speedwork and too difficult to find a decent route

reasonable result, but I'll be looking to increase the speedwork to fix my final kick. Then the hard work begins for Berlin 2009! Wednesday 29 August, 11.30pm Christine Ohuruogu greets the media after her gold in the women's 400mOnly the most fanciful