-to-remember formula for how close to a marathon you should or shouldn’t race. My understanding was that anything within the last month of training should be pace practice or less - is that about right? Sleepy BearA. I would certainly agree with this in terms of longer

;padding-top: 5px;} TD {color: #000000;} AC_FL_RunContent = 0; Answer these brief questions, and you'll immediately receive a training program that's individualised for your ability and goals. Please supply a recent race time:** Required fields

day'. When his father died, raising money for the hospital where he had been cared for was the incentive Stuart needed to apply for the 2000 event. He completed the race in 4:12, off the back of a training regime that he describes as "just going out

, it will benefit your longer race performances and give your training a completely fresh focus. Look at the great 5K and 10K runners, such as Haile Gebrselassie (whose mile PB is 3:52.39), and you'll find their mile times are very respectable."Joe Rubio, creator

, then take the evening off. Any exercise you do now won't improve your race performance, but it could prove detrimental - at best it'll tire you out, at worst you might pull something on the trot home. Commute by train or car? Then try to bag a seat

considerably between athletes. That means you have to experiment in training. "Never do anything new in a race," says Maitland. "It is very easy to upset your stomach, especially on the run."Hydration is also critical. Losing more than about two per cent

close calls. I did this following the Pfitzinger & Douglas training strategy & plans. I subsequently got under 1.23 in half mara, 38mins at 10k in March & April respectively last year so thought I was a stick on to go under 3hr at London but in that race

Marathon preparation means months of meticulous planning and diligent training to get you in peak condition. But if you don’t also have a precise plan for the race itself, you won’t get the best results from all that hard work. How should you warm

is simply to postpone your marathon – there's no way you'll be able to do yourself justice. If you've missed two or three weeks, at least you still have time to build up to your longest training runs, which are a key to race-day success. When you return

to first-time racers.Follow a programme Whether you’re hoping to walk or run, or plan to do a bit of both, a training programme – even a very basic one – will make the world of difference . Why? Two reasons. One is that you'll never have to wonder whether