KEEP calm and run a marathon.

That seems to be the advice this week, and good advice at that.

No doubt by the time this goes to print – having landed in Prague on Wednesday evening (please say I’ll have landed by Wednesday evening!) – I’ll be getting pretty nervy about Sunday’s race.

I set out on my training journey after Christmas; in fact, I donned new shoes on Boxing Day to head out for my first ‘training’ run.

That seems like years ago. The four or five miles I did that day seemed long and strenuous; 26.2 miles seemed, well, a marathon effort. It certainly hasn’t come around quickly, although there is a lingering, dreaded feeling that it has arrived too soon.

The thought of running that far, for that long, with that many people is pretty daunting – crowds and being late make me panic, so perhaps a major international marathon wasn’t the best choice.

Anyway, there’s no chance of backing out now, not after all those kind donations people have made to St Rocco’s Hospice – which has given me a lovely new green vest. It matches my shoes.

I’m told you can livestream the race, so if you do, you won’t miss me! There is also a tracking system: my number (it won’t be moving at any great speed) is 1,267 – hopefully not the minutes it’ll take me.

Here’s Brian New, from Endurance UK, trying to help me relax: “You’ve done the training so it’s just a case of getting the prep right, turning up on the day and putting it to good use.

“Don’t spend all week thinking about it and using nervous energy – you are running it regardless so worrying about it will waste that energy.”

I’ve been lucky throughout my training to receive advice from plenty of experienced runners and coaches, and Dave Cross, group exercise manager and personal trainer at PureGym Warrington, also lent a helping hand.

He said: “Arrive as early as possible to beat the crowds and get comfortable with the environment as you’ll be nervous. Big crowds mean longer queues for the toilet.

“Make sure you’ve eaten beforehand, don’t run on an empty stomach, keep to your strategy.

“Try to keep as calm as possible. When the race starts keep in mind it’s a marathon and not a sprint, pace yourself or you’ll pay later.

“Enjoy the day and make sure you grab a post-race drink and a pizza, you’ve deserved it.” Mmm, pizza.

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