Image by shimelle via Flickr

An advert for a show on Channel 4 caught my attention last week. The show, entitled Tracing the Marathon’s Millions, would follow journalist Ben Laurence as he looked into the costs involved in staging the London Marathon and the amount of money the race organisers actually pay out to charity.

Skip forward to the morning prior to the programme and the London Marathon issue a statement saying:

The London Marathon Limited and the London Marathon Charitable Trust Limited totally deny any allegations of wrongdoing and are surprised and shocked at the lack of evidence presented by the programme’s so-called investigative team to support this desperate attempt to undermine one of the world’s finest sporting events.

Translation; take Friday’s show with a pinch of salt.

As a runner, who, after the 25th April, will have run the London Marathon twice (raising over £4100 for charity through the Golden Bond scheme), I immediately went on the defensive and watched the show begrudgingly on Friday night. I do work in the media and I don’t claim to have a specialist knowledge on the subject. But I do know when to take a news story seriously and when to recognise a quote or a half-truth taken completely out of context to give a story a more sensationalist spin.

But after watching the show on Friday, I didn’t find myself overly aggravated. The makers of Dispatches were taking a big risk in making this programme. Back in 1991 Channel 4 were made to pay out a vast sum of money after the show made unsubstantiated claims about the London Marathon founders. This, coupled with this year’s announcement that the London Marathon has helped raise over half a billion pounds for charity since its inception, makes you wonder why the Dispatches show would target such a popular entity.

Image by aubergene via Flickr

At first the show didn’t tell us anything new. I’m sure most of us are aware at how competitive the race is to enter and how the Golden Bond system works. Charities pay around £300 for a place in the marathon, meaning that in order to secure a profit they are forced to set fundraising targets for their runners (normally around the £1500 mark). It is easy to forget that £300 of the money you raise for your charity is covering the cost of your place and going back to the London Marathon.

The marathon is, of course, a charity and 100% of the profits made (after the costs of staging the event and salaries etc.) go to the London Marathon charitable trust. But Dispatches claim that only a quarter of the £18m received last year actually went to the charity. The show also went on to question the costs of staging the event and showed the salary of one particular member at a remarkable £240,000. The Marathon’s chief executive Nick Bitel however, explained on the Third Sector website that this person was paid a one-off bonus as part of their salary for saving the marathon £3m in sponsorship agency fees.

The show also shone a light on the fact that the London Marathon holds a complete monopoly over charities. It’s obviously a very popular event, which provides great exposure and awareness to some very worthwhile causes. But the odds of a charity being able to obtain a Golden Bond place if they applied now were very slim indeed (one charity representative in the show was told that he could never expect to be granted a place). This did strike me as unfair, considering that some charities have hundreds of runners.

Make no mistake about it. The show has stirred up a lot of anger amongst a lot of people (including the man responsible for the resignations of some senior BBC officials, Alastair Campbell) and the London Marathon Limited has stated that it will be referring the production company, Blakeway (who make the Dispatches show), and Channel 4 to OFCOM. This does make me wonder how accurate the show was and question how much of it to take seriously. Dispatches allegedly repeatedly rejected to meet the London Marathon team and also denied them the opportunity to appear on the show to say what they wanted to say unedited.

Did you see the show on Friday night? Please let me know what your thoughts were by posting a comment below.

Tracing the Marathon’s Millions was aired on C4, 8pm 9th April 2010. You can watch it on 4OD for a limited time here.

Image by bignoseduglyguy via Flickr

As I finished a 14-miler last weekend I passed two runners coming in the other direction. These two chaps, virtually sprinting, were about 7 feet tall and didn’t have an ounce of fat on them. If you’d have cooked them up and made a jogger-burger you’d still be chewing the meat a week later. These two were as toned as they come.

I’d manage to finish my 14-mile training run in about 2 hours 10 minutes (not bad going considering I was taking it easy). Who knows at what stage these two runners were. But just from the look of their posture, the length of their stride and the clothes they were wearing you could tell that they were professionals. Or at least ran for more than a hobby.

This got me thinking. How much of a lifestyle change do you have to make to become a professional runner? How much competition is there? What sort of money are we talking for a race win? How fast do you really have to be?

The first thing to distinguish is which type of event are we trying to excel in? Track runners have a completely different training regime and diet to distance runners. This being a blog about the London Marathon, we’ll focus on marathon running.

1. Training

My (intermediate level) training plan for the marathon consists of 5 runs a week. Every Saturday I’ll go on my long run, adding a mile each week until I’ve hit 21 miles before tapering off a few weeks before a race. I’ll be lucky if I run more than 30 miles a week in the mid stages. Paula Radcliffe’s training plan for the same race sees her running 150 miles a week. That’s the equivalent of London to Cardiff each week!

Working on an 8-day cycle, she’ll typically do two runs a day (swapping some runs for a session with the weights or a sports massage). There’s no denying that in order to race at a competitive level some serious time on the road is needed. This raises the question of holding down a job. Surely there aren’t enough hours in the day?

2. Diet

As well as giving up your free time, there are certain foods you must give up (or at least cut down on) to have a chance of competing professionally. Keep the refined sugars and fat down and the carbs and protein up. Also, due to the increased level of training, professional runners have to eat often. To speed recovery, a runner will usually eat within half an hour after a run. So say hello to bananas, rice and salmon and wave goodbye to crisps, iced-cream and fizzy drinks (although our favourite record holder can’t go without her daily dark chocolate fix).

3. Competition

To compete in the London Marathon as a male elite runner you need to be able to run a marathon in under 2 hours 45 minutes (sub 3.15 if you are female). No small feat. But plenty elite runners manage this each year and are in with a shot of claiming victory.

The World Marathon Majors compiles the big 5 city marathons (Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin and our favourite London). In order to qualify you must score in the top 5 in at least 4 of these events. Again, no small feat. But this is where the prize money starts to get interesting.

4. Money

Let’s not beat about the bush. To start making money from winning races you’ve got to be good. Really good. To get in the money at the London Marathon you’ve got to be able to run a sub 2:11:00 (sub 2:28:00 for women). This will earn you a cool $1000.

But get past a certain level and the money starts to get pretty tasty. Finish first place in the London Marathon and you can expect upwards of $50,000. And it doesn’t stop there.

Finish the marathon in under 2:05:00 and you’ll get a $100,000 kicker. Break the course record in the process and you’ll get another $25,000. Break the World record and you’ll land yourself another $125,000 on top of all your winnings! So if you are a world record breaker, there is potential to win upwards of $300,000!

Couple that with winning the World Marathon Majors and you’re on your way to becoming a millionaire.

Running for a living
(cue cheesy stock photo)

Let’s face it. Unless you’re the best of the best, you’re not going to see any prize money from entering a marathon. The decision to turn professional can’t be easy. As we’ve seen, training is a full-time job and requires ultimate dedication. To gamble a lifestyle on the premise of winning a race seems to me to be a big gamble. It is no surprise then that the majority of professionals start young and gain their confidence and technique through years of experience (from track running out of a school club).

Of course, earning a living from running doesn’t just have to come from winning races. Coaches and personal trainers at a basic level can charge around £50 an hour for their services. Get a job at a running magazine, writing about your favourite sport and you’ve obtained the epitome of job satisfaction!

I’d love to hear from any althetes who run full time. Do you know anyone who makes a living out of running? How big a yearly income can they expect? Feel free to comment below and let us know.

Cut to two months later. You have your place, you’ve got your new trainers and you’re about to go on your first long-distance run. Off you go…

3 hours later, you stumble home; pale, knackered, nipples bleeding and chafing so bad that you look like you’ve won first place in a John Wayne look-a-like competition. Slumped on your sofa you think to yourself, what went wrong?

A common mistake in training for a long-distance run is starting too strong too soon. Prepare well and you should have no trouble achieving your goals.

Build up gradually.
If you’re not a regular runner or it’s been a while, your first two miles will open your eyes and you should find it quite difficult (when I first started running again I was nearly sick). Don’t be disheartened and try not to push yourself too hard. Forcing yourself to run further than you’re ready for can lead to injury and will slow down your training.

When running at regular intervals you’ll find that you’ll improve very quickly. It’ll become easier to increase the distances slightly each time you go out. Annoyingly, when you stop running that improvement drops off just as quickly.

Check the weather.
Last weekend I went out for a 10k, bundled up in a hoodie, woolly hat and jogging bottoms. After 10 minutes of running the sun came out with a vengeance and I was sweating so hard I couldn’t see. Draping a hoodie around your shoulders might scream catalogue model but it’s a serious pain when running. Check the weather before you go out and dress accordingly.

Plan your route.
The last thing you want happening on your run is getting lost and running two miles extra than you had planned. Personally, I use Google maps and write street names on my hand like a London cabbie. There are plenty of route finders out there like the Gmaps pedometer or Map My Run. Sites like these actually show you other peoples’ running routes so don’t be surprised if someone is following you during your training.

Nutrition.
I’m lucky enough to get sent a lot of nutritional products as writer of this blog. I have had a chance to test out products like Wellman Sport and Focus Energy Shots. Some PRs have even sent through boxes of Nairns Oatcakes, CLIF bars and even offered me children’s milkshakes as sustenance before going on a long run!

While all of these provide the carbs you need before a run (maybe not the milkshakes) there really is no substitute for a big bowl of pasta the night before. I’ve even been told in the past to eat so much pasta that you’re on the verge of throwing up. While I expressly do not condone gorging, a healthy sized portion the night before a run is a perfect way of fuelling your body in preparation for a long-distance jog.

Lube up!
Before I discovered Body Glide (or initially Vaseline) chafing was a very serious problem for me. It can happen anywhere; between your toes, by your armpits, between your thighs and (most painfully of all) on the nipples. The first time I ran more than 5 miles I experienced it and it will completely ruin your run once it has set in.

And don’t just think you can put up with the pain. If you experience it, it will affect your running style and all you will want to do is start walking so the pain will stop. One of this blog’s earliest posts was on chafing. Read up.

Take money.
If you pick up an injury (or the chafing becomes too much) you’ll need a way home. Taking a phone with you may be to much of an inconvenience so fold up a £10 note and put it in your sock. Don’t forget that you could be miles away from home when something happens so having a bus fare will give you piece of mind.

Take a drink.
Is your run likely to last more than an hour an a half? If so, it’s probably worth you taking a bottle of water with you. Personally, I’ve done a half marathon without a bottle of water before. But if it’s hot and you haven’t hydrated properly before a run then I wouldn’t advise it.

Rest.
Running 7 days a week might make you think you’re the Six Million Dollar Man and some people do it. But your body will have no chance to recuperate and you’ll increase your likelihood of becoming ill. Many people pick up a cold before a marathon because they’ve overdone it. Get a good 8 hours the night before and don’t go boozing.

There are 9 different events to choose from on the day. Obviously the main event is a full marathon, but also available to participate in is a quarter marathon, 10km walk, ‘mini’ races for children and a handcyles half marathon. However, the most popular distance (with over 3000 more entrants than the full marathon) is the half marathon.

The starting point is a 20 minute train journey away from the finish line, in La Tour-de-Peilz, a cool 13.1 miles away. Handily, your running number is your train fare, but the train runs almost side-by-side with the running route, painfully showing you just how far you have to run to reach the finish line back in Lausanne.

1:30 pacer

The standard of runners is very high in Switzerland. The fastest time in 2009 was a 1:05:58. Brilliantly, this means that there are pacers everywhere. These athletes, with coloured balloons strapped to their backs, position themselves at the correct starting points and run at the right pace, so that if you follow them you will match the time written on their balloon. I followed the purple 2:00 balloon (having not trained nearly enough and feeling very out of my depth). I didn’t see a balloon with a pace slower than 2:10 on the day, which goes to show the calibre of the runners there.

The actual race was fantastic. The road back to Lausanne follows the coast line of Lake Geneva. With the lake on your left the entire journey, you pass through some incredible countryside. However, this does mean that the level of support is very sparse. While you do pass through a couple of small towns, there aren’t many people around to cheer you on until the last half mile. This race is the first that I have run with headphones. Obviously, at one point an ambulance used the route, which I of course did not hear and was pushed to the side of the road by an angry Swiss man. Luckily, my French wasn’t good enough to understand the profanities being hurled my way.

Drink stations were frequent and the road was wide enough to allow a good spread of runners. It was quite congested at the start and around the pace setters, but after the half-way mark the congestion had thinned out. The course did seem to be a constant uphill climb, albeit not very steep.

I crossed the finish line (outside the Olympic Museum in Lausanne) after passing the 2 hour pace setter, in a time of 1:58:13 (a personal best for me). Considering I had only really trained by doing one long run each weekend for the previous month, I was very pleased. The cool weather and clean air must have played a part!

The Lausanne Half Marathon is a very well organised event. It costs around £30 to enter and for the number of people participating the facilities are impressive (ample toilets, free pasta party, an expo, good quality medal and a courier system to transport your belongings to the finish line).

You can enter here for next year but if you do I have three pieces of advice for you:

1. Learn how to convert kilometres to miles. Being a European country, all distance markers are in kilometres and I was forced to do some tough maths in my head to work out if I was going at the right pace to finish in a good time.
2. At the finish, make sure you park your car at the bottom of the hill. Lausanne is full of incredibly steep hills and walking up them at the end of a 13-mile run is not recommended.
3. Hang around a little at the end. If the podium frees up enough you can get some great pictures!

My two running buddies, Gemma and Matt

If only we each had a personal running track.

1. Conkers
   The horse-chestnut tree, while being a picturesque addition to your local park and fueling you with the fresh air you need, spawns a sea of spherical chaos. Running through your local park in the Autumn is like a scene from a Tom and Jerry cartoon, with Tom desperately trying to keep balance while slipping under a floor of marbles.
   .
   Luckily, the majority of conkers that have fallen overnight will have been collected by small children and conker champions by lunch time.
   .
2. Dogs on leads
   Never underestimate the speed at which a dog (no matter how small) can change direction. The result can mean one of two outcomes. Either, you’ll have to increase speed to avoid a nip at the ankles (for some reason, like the postman, a jogger is too much temptation to avoid). Or, the lead will create a temporary trip wire that you will have to hurdle to avoid either tripping or breaking the poor dog’s neck.

3. Cyclists
   The unwritten hierarchy of the road is as follows. Cars, Cyclists, Joggers, Pedestrians. However, cyclists play by their own rules. Pedestrian crossings don’t apply and the path (sidewalk) is a slip road to them. Listen out for the warning ‘Ding Ding’ of the biker bell, which literally translates to ‘You have been given a clear warning of my approach. I will not be held responsible for what happens if you do not move’.

4. Other runners
   On facing an oncoming runner, perform the following:
   • Establish eye-contact as early as possible.
   • Choose one side of the pavement.
   • Adopt an authoritative stance and do not deviate from your line.

   This will hopefully avoid the dreaded (and embarrassing) ‘you go left, no YOU go left and I’ll go right’ scenario.

5. Little kids
   Like its canine companion, the human child has an inherent need to chase down a jogger. However, instead of attacking, the child will mimic a jogger’s actions and engage them in a race. Do not be tempted. You have been running at a strict and steady pace and most young children have not yet succumbed to the perils of fast food and cigarettes. You will not win.
   .
   
6. Pigeons
   Be on the lookout for the lonely old man sat on a bench with a loaf of Warburtons in his hand. You might not have spotted it yet, but there’ll be a large group of birds in a feeding frenzy near his feet. Approaching a lone pigeon at jogging pace is no problem. The bird will simply hop quickly around you or fly off in another direction.
   .
   However, when startling a large group of huddled birds, the only direction the birds can go, without bumping in to each other, is up. Right into your face. To avoid a face full of feathers, scream and flap your arms wildly in a movement that is not unlike a pigeon itself. If you’re lucky the birds will spot you in good time.
   .
7. Cars
   On a serious note, spotting a car emerging from a side road as you run along a pavement can be tricky. Keep your eyes open and check your blind spot (look back at traffic approaching from behind), especially if you are wearing headphones.
   .
   Motorists, like cyclists, are unpredictable and oblivious.
   .
8. Dog Poo
   Smelly and slippery, canine faeces usually comes in waves (groups of neighboring dogs usually working together to snare oncoming joggers). Cleverly, dogs arrange their mess in strategic positions, roughly one stride-length apart from the other, to trap joggers as they try to weave their way through.
   .
   On spotting a dog defecating your local park, all joggers are obliged to reprimand their owners and report them to their local council.

9. Tourists
   The ultimate nemesis of any jogger. Tourists have no spacial awareness and are always looking up (at surrounding buildings or monuments) or through the lens of a camera. Coughing loudly isn’t going to work. On spotting a group of tourists, take evasive action immediately. Cross to the other side of the road (if that is an option). However, if your path is single file, there is only one option.

Speed up, charge head first and repeat this phrase…

Je suis très désolé!

It’s the same story for anyone with a gym membership. You have the tools around you to get fitter but if you workout on your own are you really going to push yourself that little bit further? You know you’d achieve much better results if you had a personal trainer, but after a little research you find that your bank balance will be the only thing getting a workout!

This weekend I attended a class that poses a possible solution to the problem. Each Saturday (or most Saturdays) when I begin my early morning run in Greenwich Park, I’ll pass a bunch of people wearing coloured bibs, usually led by a burly bloke in camouflaged trousers shouting and screaming. These are the British Military Fitness classes.

The British Military Fitness (BMF) classes are the UK’s leading outdoor fitness provider. They are led by a qualified instructor (all of whom have a military background) and each class consists of a one-hour session of exercises that will push you to your absolute limits.

When I turned up at 9am to start the class on Saturday morning I had a chat with one of the instructors about my basic level of fitness. I explained that I’d run the marathon back in April and that I was a regular gym goer. This turned out to be an error as he threw me straight into the intermediate class. The classes are broken up into the groups; beginner (blue bibs), intermediate (red bibs) and advanced (green bibs).

Donning my red bib, we immediately started off with a 10-minute warm up and jogged off into Greenwich park. This was focused on getting the heart rate up and consisted of plenty of running exercises (short sharp bursts of speed with rapid changes in direction) and a lot of movement (designed to get the muscles adequately stretched). Because the group was so large (roughly 40 people) we were split up into two. I later found out that the instructors had decided the groups based on what they had seen from you in the warm-ups and tiered them slightly. Apparently I was lower-tier material, which was probably about right.

Our group was led off further around the park, stopping at different points to perform a batch of exercises before moving on. These exercises are largely based on building your core muscle groups. All the instructors have to work with is the park and your body. There are no weights or special tools so the exercises use your own body-weight against you. There were plenty of press-ups, sit-ups and squat exercises during the course of the hour.

One of the best elements of the class is the camaraderie between those attending. Most people (especially the new starters like myself) were initially quite quiet and timid. This really didn’t last long as you’re thrown into exercises with partners. Everyone there was fantastic. I had 5 or 6 different partners throughout the course of the hour and each one of the them was vigorous and encouraging. Considering they were strangers this was incredibly refreshing, especially in a city where the only words you’ll utter to someone you don’t know are “2 pints of lager please”.

They do try to pair you off with someone of similar size and weight. During one exercise we were required to push against one another in an effort to force your opponent over an imaginary line between you. The chap I was paired off with gave me a little wink, said “I’m a rugby player”, dug his heels in and launched me backwards! I reckon I’ll ‘av him after a few more classes.

Overall these classes are an excellent way of staying in shape. Coupled with a running schedule, the BMF would be an ideal way of training for an upcoming race and, based on how I’m feeling today (three days after the class), I’d imagine you’d shed some serious pounds. For the price of a gym membership you can attend these classes as many times a week as you’d like. I’d honestly recommend these classes to anyone. Everyone is incredibly friendly (a few members took me out for a coffee afterwards) and I was in no way made to feel intimidated. Your first class is free and there’s no obligation to sign up if it’s not for you.

The only negative feedback I can report from the day is the lack of water breaks. It was pretty warm on the weekend and we only stopped twice for a quick gulp of water. Considering the intensity of the workout, I didn’t feel that this was enough. Also, I’m not sure I’d have enjoyed the session if the weather hadn’t been so good. Winter is only around the corner…

Sir Win A Lot

Like what you’ve heard? Well the team at British Military Fitness are kindly giving away one month’s free membership to the BMF classes to 5 lucky SJAL readers! The courses are based all over the UK and, if you’re a winner*, you can select any BMF venue you’d like to attend.

You can enter in one of two ways. Either…

1. Post a message on Twitter by clicking this link or…
2. Answer the following question:

Which BMF class was I put in during my introductory session?

A. Beginner

B. Intermediate

C. Advanced

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

*Winners will be contacted either by email or Twitter and announced on 1st September. Your email address will in no way be distributed to third parties.

Picture from thor_matt83 via flickr

…lose the bling!

This week has left biologists and statisticians speechless as Usain Bolt smashed his 100m record by over a 10th of a second (a video I have watched an extortionate amount since Sunday).

His closest competitor, Tyson Gay, ran a 9.71 (pretty close to Bolt’s previous record-breaking run in Beijing of 9.69). In short distances like the 100m, a tenth of a second is an age. Technological advances in sports clothing have given us lighter shoes and aerodynamic materials, designed to streamline the body. In a sport where every hundredth of second counts, an athlete’s weight is crucial.

So why, in the name of all that is holy, would the elite athletes drag themselves down with the unnecessary jewellery that the 100m finalists were wearing on Sunday?

Here comes the science bit, concentrate…

Lets say that, during his 100m final, Usain Bolt is running at top speed (roughly 12.44 metres per second*) by the time he reaches 60 metres. Bolt reached 60m in 6.31 seconds and he weighs 86kg (it’s amazing what you can find out online). That’s an acceleration of just under 2 metres per second, per second.

Force = mass x acceleration

172 Newtons.

Add a watch (10g), a bracelet (7g) and a gold chain with a ring around it (15g) and the extra force required to accelerate to top speed is an extra 0.064 Newtons!

OK, in reality that isn’t very much, in fact it’s the equivalent to a slight breeze. But in a sport where a race is cancelled if there’s a tail wind blowing at more than 2 m/s then this is a significant difference.

If…

1. that meant nothing to you…
2. you don’t believe me…
3. you think I got my maths wrong…

…then check the table below. Usain and Gay (sans jewellery) came first and second.

Bet you wish you’d paid more attention in physics class now eh?

100 Metres Final

1. Usain Bolt – 9.58 – NO BLING
2. Tyson Gay – 9.71 – NO BLING
3. Asafa Powell – 9.84 – WATCH, BEADED NECKLACE
4. Daniel Bailey – 9.93 – CHAIN NECKLACE WITH A RING ON IT!
5. Richard Thompson – 9.93 – CHAIN, WATCH
6. Dwain Chambers – 10.00 – WATCH
7. Marc Burns – 10.00 – BRACELET
8. Darvis Patton – 10.34 – WATCH

* Calculated using the time it takes for him to run between the 60m and 80m marks during his 100m final.

Okay, so you’re a competent runner. You’re a 10km pro, perhaps have a few half marathons under you’re belt, and maybe even a marathon and, towards the end you’re usually overtaking – and that makes you feel good. But, when the time comes up after the race, there’s a nagging doubt that perhaps you could be doing better. But how? How can you shave off a few minutes here, some precious seconds there, and start to improve those times? Well, thankfully, here are some tips to help you smash that PB:

1. Race everything
   
   You see that other runner plodding along 60 meters away? Yeah? She’s going to win £1,000 instead of you unless you catch her in two minutes. Oh and that tree blowing innocently in the wind? It’s going to fall on you unless you’re past it in under 45 seconds. Basically: find motivation, whatever it is, to make yourself run faster than you need to. Overtake other runners, see how long you can stay ahead of a cyclist coming up behind you, imagine a dog is about to attack you, and so on. Anything you can do to exert extra energy will help you reach a new level of fitness. And it’s fun too. This is essentially the Swedish running style known as Fartlek (Speed Play) and is a good way to have fun, and increase your speed, while out running.

2. Push yourself
   
   Perhaps this will sound obvious but you’ve got to push yourself. This though, needn’t mean running like Usian Bolt and sweating more than Lee Evans, it just means easing yourself from a position of comfort while running to one of, well, a bit less comfort. Next time you find yourself ticking along nicely, gradually start to accelerate. Nothing major, but a slow, steady increase, so that after about 200 meters you’re doing a good speed. Now maintain that pace for about three minutes, or as long as you feel comfortable with, and then ease back down to a comfortable pace. Speeding up gradually and then easing back down will help to shift the boundary of your most comfortable running speed to one that’s slightly faster than before.

3. Time yourself
   
   Investing in a good watch is a great way to go faster. Being able to accurately record how fast and how far you’re running while out and about provides you with a much better way of being able to assess your ability. And using the Fartlek running style (mentioned above) means you can put a specific speed and/or distance limit on each sprint you do – say, 0.4km at 4.30 minutes per km. Garmin, the most well-known brand, have watches that start at around £60 on Amazon and a little shopping around will help you see what seems best.

4. Plan your race
   
   This is the time when you might feel like an obsessive runner. Pick a race that’s flat, on a smooth surface, and avoids laps. Have a good breakfast (and a banana) and make sure you’re there in plenty of time to warm up. The race itself is also something you need to plan. The first 3km could dash any hopes you have if you go too slow or get caught in a crowd, so get to a good position in the start and ensure you begin at the pace you’ve planned for. Through 3km to 8km, you want to find that rhythm you’ve built to in training and stick to it: this is where your fancy watch will come in handy, telling you your exact pace, and alerting you if you’re going to slowly, allowing you to pick up the pace before you fall too far behind. Then over the last two kilometers really push it home, using the adrenaline of the race environment, the knowledge you’re close to home, and the fact you’re about to smash your PB, to really shave off as many seconds, or indeed minutes, as you can. Hopefully, this will see you home in your best time yet; and there’s something intensely satisfying about that.

Only trouble is once… now you’ve set it you’ve got to break it again. Back out on the road you go…

For those that have just started running, whether you’re looking to lose a few pounds or you’re keen on running more competively, a 10k race is a great first challenge to really test your endurance skills.

If you’re a fully fledged marathon runer, 10k is a nice distance to keep yourself in peak physical condition during those winter months and is a fantastic platform to start improving your long-distance times. Because of this, the 10k running race is one of the most popular events in the jogging community.

Here are 5 tips that will ensure that you’ll run and finish a 10k race in the time you’re looking to:

1. Pick your training plan:

   You’ll need to decide on the training plan for you. This will depend on how seriously you’re going take the race and how far in advance you’ve been given to train. Annoyingly, unless you’re a regular runner, it can take a number of weeks to significantly improve your distance running so if your race is in a couple of weeks then getting round will be your main goal. Runner’s World and Cancer Research UK (beginners and advanced) have some good 10k training plans that are based on how long you have until race day.

2. Choose the right clothes:

   If you’re new to running then you might be inclined to dust off those old trainers that have been lying in the back of your closet and start pounding asphalt. Don’t. Trainers are the most important tool in a runner’s arsenal and are the one area you should never skrimp on. Visit a recommended athletics store to have your gait analysed and pick up the shoes that are best suited to your running style. Your posture will improve and you’ll avoid unneccesary injury. With shorts, shirts and socks stick to light material and try and avoid heavier fabrics like thick cotton. This will hopefully reduce friction between thighs and armpits and will ‘wick’ away sweat should you get hot. Find out what you feel the most comfortable wearing (and how much leg you’re happy with showing off) and get plenty of…

3. Practice:

   Unlike training for a marathon, 10 kilometres is a distance that you can perform at the end of each week that’ll leave you enough time to recover for the following week. Get a few 10k practice runs under your belt and try to discover what sort of times you feel comfortable with. Some may manage to crack the sub-one-hour mark on their first attempt. Others may struggle, but you can save yourself a few surprises by having a go around your local park. Use the Google Maps distance measurement tool or the GMAP Pedometer to map out the 10k and work out some split times based on landmarks on your route. It’ll come in handy come the big day as you’ll know whether to slow down or speed up as you reach each kilometre mark. If you’ve got the wallet, there are plenty of GPS tools you can purchase, like the Garmin Forerunner.

4. Prepare:

   It might not be a marathon, but that doesn’t mean that a good bowl of pasta the night before won’t go down a treat on race day. Stock up on carbs , pin your race number to your shirt and plan your route to the start line the night before. The last thing you want is to arrive late at the start line and exhaust yourself getting there, or worse still, miss the race!

5. Pace yourself:

   It sounds like simple advice, go steady and you’ll make it all the way round, and it is simple. But the amount of times I’ve been passed in the first mile of a 10k race, only to overtake them by mile 4, is absolutely astonishing. Your aim should be to obtain the much-heralded negative split time, where you run the second half of the race faster than the first. If it’s your first race you will almost certainly get caught up in the mad rush at the start and launch into a 4-minute K pace. You know your body, so you should know your extremeties. The rumours that the crowd will keep you going are only true so far. If you run too fast at the start you’ll struggle at the end and you’ll leave the race feeling disappointed and upset with yourself.

Last night I went for my first, post-marathon jog. In 4 weeks I’ll be re-running the first race event I competed in, the Bupa London 10K. I’ve set myself a target of getting round in sub-50 minutes. Last year I couldn’t quite break the 55-minute mark but after training for (and completing) a marathon I should be Señor Speedy Jogales.

First things first, I need to keep my level of fitness exactly as it is. I’d had 9 days to recover from the marathon (which I’d spent eating and drinking myself into a stupor) so I went out on a 3-mile jog around Blackheath. As I mentioned in a previous post, it’s important to have another goal or milestone to focus on after the marathon to stop yourself getting the post-marathon blues (sometimes caused from the lack of endorphins produced during regular exercise). Plus, this time Sally is running with me, so I’ll have a bit of extra encouragement.

I also had a new toy to play with. Just before the marathon I was approached by a digital PR chap who had “an opportunity that I think might interest you” and two weeks later this bad boy arrived in the post; an mp3 player designed specifically for running folk.

Herein lies the dilemma. Do I keep my integrity, send the mp3 player back and continue to write the SJAL blog posts for free (or without perks), or do I sell out, review the thing and keep it? From the title of the post you can guess what I did! To be fair, I’ve already plugged a fair few websites and running products and if this PR agency thinks that my audience (you guys) would benefit from whatever they’re trying to get in the press then I’m more than happy to review it.

So here goes… my first review:

I ran the three miles with the Sony Walkman W Series and it was the fastest three miles I’ve ever run (something like 21 minutes). Unfortunately, the reason for my speed wasn’t due to the inspiring music that had been pre-loaded on to the device, but simply because I didn’t want anyone to see me with this thing attached to my head.

The mp3 player is built directly into the headphones and the cable that connects the two, wraps round the back of your head. The theory behind it is brilliant. It gets rid of the annoying dangling cables (that you’d normally have to tuck underneath your shirt) and allows quick and easy access to the controls so you can play, pause, change track and adjust volume really easily. In practice, however, the device is clunky, uncomfortable and a little unsightly. I’m quite a self-conscious person (for the longest time I had issues running in a pair of shorts that show any leg above the knee) so I felt uncomfortable wearing a bright white device* that resembles two bluetooth headsets. You can’t even cover it with a hat because your hat won’t fit!

If this doesn’t bother you (and you have the right shaped head) then you’ll love this device and you’d have no reason not to. The sound quality is brilliant. The headphones resemble the MDR inner-ear series (I have a pair of these and the sound quality is unmatched for the price) and once the device is securely in place there’s no moving it. I’m no Paula Radcliffe head-bobber but the W Series stayed in place throughout my run. It charges in 3 minutes (using a slick little docking station that comes with it) and can hold 2GB worth of music (about 500 songs).

My advice, try before you buy. The cable that connects the two earpieces doesn’t have much give and if your head isn’t quite the right size then it’ll feel odd and you’ll be constantly trying to adjust it, rather than focusing on your run. I was so busy trying to adjust it that I nearly locked myself out of my flat.  It’s a shame because the concept and the functionality works so well.

Sir Jog A Lot rating: 3/5

* The W Series also comes in black, purple, pink and yellow