Marathon Running

London Marathon running. How not to "Hit the Wall" and to ensure that you come down The Mall in style.

Breakfast at 4am. Mountain Fuel - Morning Fuel. Half a packet with a pint of milk. Great for carbohydrate loading.

One hour before start 8.30am. Morning fuel with milk again, sipped slowly for a final fuel-up.

At Mile 9. Weak mix of PSP22 for carbo-top-up.

At Mile 14. Weak mix of GO Electrolyte for carbo-top-up and salt; potassium and magnesium replacement lost through sweating. So avoids any risk of cramp.

At Mile 17. Go Gel (Tropical flavour) for extra carbs to get through mid-race blues and the heat of The Isle of Dogs.

At Mile 21. Weak mix of PSP22 for final carbo-top-up to fuel the finish run.

At Mile 23. Smart 1 Gel - Caffeine (so works faster) + carbs for final push along The Embankment.

Post Race. REGO - pint and a half of strong mixture with fruit juice to repair damage and replace carbs and salts as quickly as possible.

Nuun tablets. 2 carried in case of electrolyte loss (which risks cramp or even hyponatraemia) for emergency use. Not used, but wouldn't want to be without them.

Ride Shots. Sucked intermittently along the way, they keep your mouth moist and in so doing seem to raise morale.

Mountain Fuel - Night Fuel mixed with milk. Used both the night before and the night after. It repairs damage during the night with slow release stuff, so you get an undisturbed sleep.

Tom Harrison - UK Athletics Coach - Licence No:131825 8 consecutive Londons and now looking forward to 2012.