You are now at Week 6 of marathon training. That means 6 weeks to the International Marathon of Mauritius. The next three weeks, up to and including Week 4, are the weeks where you?ll achieve the peak training toward which you?ve been building. If you are training to the Novice Program, you?ll end this week with an 18-miler. If training to the Intermediate Program, you?ll end with a 20-miler. Week 5 is another recovery week then Week 4 ends with a 20-miler in both Novice and Intermediate Programs.

From Week 3, you?ll start to taper the training. The distance of each run is steadily reduced, allowing your body to recover from hard training. If you?ve missed some recent training sessions or you started training late, you may want to start your taper from Week 2. That may work for you, but make sure you taper for at least two weeks prior to the marathon. Don?t train too hard, too close to the event. Many athletes wrongly assume that any reduction in training volume or intensity will result in a loss of fitness. As long as you maintain at least 50 per cent of your normal training volume, your endurance capacity should not be affected.

At peak training, fatigue can set in. You may need to manage some of your other stresses. For instance, strength training is normally good for runners, but not toward the end of a marathon build-up. Cross-training is another stress that can be reduced. You are at the point in the training program where you need to think about phasing out other activities that don?t contribute directly to your running fitness. Save your energy and devote the extra time to stretching. Stretching is important for marathoners, who risk losing flexibility because of their high-mileage training. Ensure you include some stretching in your daily running routine. Remember, the best time to stretch is after a short warm-up and again at the end of the run. And get some extra sleep. This is particularly important if your runs begin in the early morning to avoid the heat that builds during the morning.

You should have bought new running shoes by now for the marathon. Continuing to run in an old pair of shoes after they become worn can be an expensive mistake, particularly now when you are running between 60 to 70 kilometres a week. You may save, or postpone, the price of a new pair, but you may eventually pay in lost time due to injury and maybe doctor?s fees.

You should now be practicing everything else related to race day. That includes equipment, hydration and nutrition. Do you know what kit you?ll wear on the day? Your shorts, shirt and shoes? Test your clothing in training to make sure nothing chafes or causes a blister. If you suffer from chafing, commonly experienced under the arms and in the groin area, then try applying Vaseline. Do you get stomach cramps drinking a sports drink, eating bananas or sports bars when running? Now is the time to experiment and fine tune your plan to make sure you?ll have no surprises during the event.

Finally, the amount of training that you?re doing makes you more susceptible to catching a cold or a virus. Prevention is always better than a cure. Sanitation is the first step: wash your hands often and always before eating. Eat a well-balanced diet. Take vitamin C supplements. At the first sign of illness, take zinc lozenges. And try herbal teas. Echinacea is best for boosting immunity.

But one morning, you wake up with a sore throat and a stuffy nose. Your running schedule calls for five miles. It would be best to take the day off, but you probably decide to run. Should you run? First, do the ?neck check test?.

If your symptoms are ?above the neck?, such as runny or stuffy nose, sneezing or sore throat, a little easy running probably won?t do any harm. In fact, it might even help. Exercise releases adrenaline, also called epinephrine, a natural decongestant, which may explain why a run seems to clear nasal passages. But monitor your body. If you experience dizziness, feel nauseous or sweat profusely, STOP RUNNING.

If you have ?below the neck? symptoms such as fever, fatigue, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhoea, chills, sweats, swollen glands or a bad cough, then you probably have a virus. Running increases dehydration and can lead to more serious problems, so DO NOT RUN. Take the next few days off. You should not lose too much of your conditioning. It will take a little effort to get back to where you left off, but the body is resilient and has great ?memory?. It generally won?t take as long as you think. Adjust your training schedule: start back by doing less mileage and incorporate some walking into your run.

[email protected] Contact: Team Events Ltd, Flic en Flac. Telephone 453-5701 Email : [email protected] Website: www.maratmaurice.com