Bombay Jan 2006

[El Gordo]

Andy; You shouldn't keep all those adventures and stories in your head. Unless that's were they started, of course.

Harsh, very harsh....

I know the Ooty train which was a good 'un. Darjeeling is a longer journey I think, and the train a bit smaller? I can't really remember.

Didn't mean to be off-putting about the training. If you're reasonably fit, you will have no trouble getting round, but you'll have to take it really steady. I think it's Nigel who often recalls the famous advice - Start slow, then taper off. That's the best I can offer at this stage. You need to play the long game.

Drink plenty of water in the days leading up to the race. At least 3 or 4 litres. I should think that dehydration would be a real worry in an Indian marathon. Take a few gels or similar to try to keep a bit of energy in reserve.

And remember, it's a marathon not a sprint.

You might find Ozzy Gontang interesting. He's a laid-back Californian dude who organises the San Diego marathon. Does an interesting line in sort of marathoning for the Buddhist. You'll find a collection of his articles here:

http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.html

It's a minor tradition, but I always read this one before a marathon:
http://www.mindfulness.com/om1.html[url=http://www.mindfulness.com/om.html][/url]

There's some good advice in these articles about the lead-up to a race, and how to prepare yourself mentally for the challenge.