Right here they are, the rules I abide to and will help you achieve your goal when it comes to running marathons, or any distance really. I’ll spend time on each in more detail but for the moment I’ve set them out in a list below.

1. Run Further. Add distance, not speed.
2. Run Faster. This is about adding pace after you have got your foundation after rule 1.
3. Don’t get injured. This is the hardest rule to obey as you always want to do more of rule 1 and 2 which can result in an injury. (I even hate typing the word!)
4. Nutrition, nutrition and nutrition… Did I mention nutrition. It’s all about the proper fuel.
5. Weight. So important, use to believe because I ran 100k+ a week I could eat what I wanted. Not true.
6. Baseline, document and evaluate everything. If it isn’t on www.strava.com it didn’t happen. Once you set a goal you have to be able to know how far you have come to achieving this, small steps but constant feedback. So buy a Garmin and start recording , everything !!!
7. Sleep. So underestimated but the bodies way of refuelling and preparing for the next day of running. Common sense but so often ignored.
8. Consistency. No point running 100k one week and then nothing. Marathon fitness is built up over time and this works hand in hand with rule number 1.
9. It’s all in the mind. After 32k a marathon is down to mental strength and the ability to persuade your body you can still perform at your desired pace without falling to fatigue, which is the minds way of protecting itself. Never underestimate the power of the mind in long distance racing.

Feel I should be able to find 1 more rule. It’s always 10 rules right ? I wonder what happened over the years to all good rules number 11 which never made the cut.