Leading the field: Paula RadcliffeThe Athens Olympic Marathon in 2004 was meant to be Paula Radcliffe's race. Since her marathon debut in London in 2002 the British world record holder had never been defeated over the distance. Certainly the Kenyans

SWIM: Warm-up: 4 x 75m with bilateral breathing. Main: 10 x 50m steady with 30 seconds rest between efforts, then 100m fast (record your time). Cool down 6 x 50m bilateral breathing SWIM: 3 x 100m warm-up. Main: 75m, 100m, 125m, 100m, 75m all with 40

- record times and compare) Afternoon: CYCLE 90 mins steady Morning: SWIM (in wetsuit and open water) 750m (up to 20 mins) race pace, then tread water for 2 mins, then SWIM back focusing on technique Afternoon: CYCLE 10 mins easy, then 4 x 6 mins

© Getty Images The two Olympic marathons held last August in Beijing were literally races for the ages. Kenya's Samuel Wanjiru, then 21, broke more than an Olympic record with his 2:06:32 win; he crushed long-held conventional

Leading the field: Paula RadcliffeThe Athens Olympic Marathon in 2004 was meant to be Paula Radcliffe's race. Since her marathon debut in London in 2002 the British world record holder had never been defeated over the distance. Certainly the Kenyans

in racing 26 miles? No one knows, but some experts suspect that during the euphoria of the early running boom in the 1970s, many runners over-raced, then sensibly sought moderation, including alternative activities. But now those runners miss the achievement