, or it can be a couple of long weekends at home, if planned properly.I write this during my fourth training camp of the year, 7000ft up in the Pyrenees at Font Romeu. This is high level training in every sense of the world, as most of the group are preparing

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

fit’ or ‘feeling better about yourself’. Write down specific goals, such as losing five pounds or entering a 10K, and chart a plan of progress towards it with short- and long-term targets. An reliable training partner is a good supplement to goal

. I didn’t fully recover for months, and of course, I didn’t get selected for the Olympics. This was a time when I really needed a second opinion. Mix your training I retired from serious athletics in October 1967, equalling my PB of 13:12 for three