The London Marathon

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Anyone new to running should train for a year - perhaps even two - before attempting the likes of the London Marathon. At the very least, you should not attempt a marathon with less than nine months training.

So if you are thinking of running the Flora London Marathon in April 2010, you should start training by August this year year. Anything less will increase your chances of injury.

In essence, marathon training can comes in two phases. Base training takes up the first few months of your schedule and aims to get you to a basic level of fitness. Once you are able to run 20 minutes continuously at least three times a week, then you are ready for the second phase.

Marathon Training - the specifics

It is not enough just to run every day. There needs to be variety in your marathon schedule.   You should be running in a variety of different ways, designed to improve different aspects of your performance. A marathon training programme will therefore consist of a number of different components:

• Long Slow Distance Run (LSD)

Perhaps the most important aspect of your marathon training, you should aim to begin these runs at a low mileage at say, 7 miles. You should then progressively build up the distance over the coming months. You should aim to complete about four long runs (about 20 miles each), around 2-3 weeks apart. The last one should be at least three weeks before the marathon.

• Tempo Running

This is particularly useful for those hoping to run the marathon for a specific time. When it comes to the big day, you want your body to be used to running at your target pace. If you are aiming for a 4 hour 30 minute marathon, for example, then your race pace is 10 minutes 18 seconds a mile. At least one of your training runs each week should be at this pace. Ideally you should aim to complete one tempo run a week until you hit 18 miles. Beyond 18 miles at race pace will increase your risk of injury and could ruin your chances of running on the day.

• Strength Work

Legs need to be strong to complete the London Marathon course. You can also increase your leg strength with specific exercises in the gym e.g. leg extensions, leg press, squats, calf raises, ham string curls. As part of your build up to the marathon, you should spend a few weeks concentrating on strengthening your legs.

• Recovery

Recovery runs do just that - they aid your recovery. Rather than a complete rest after a hard run, a short easy run will reap more benefits. A nice easy pace will do more to clear the lactic acid out of the muscles, and increase the blood flow than complete rest. They should be no more than 20-30 minutes.