I like most music, (apart from Jazz obviously), however whenever I am asked I unhesitatingly name my favourite groups as 1) the Beatles 2) Pink Floyd and 3) Led Zepplin. Please leave a short comment with your own favourite group or groups. I have left my own reply so you can see the format. 

The groups are undoubtedly a reflection of age. The most powerful musical influences being made during your teenage years and early twenties, when music generally seemed much more important. Unfortunately I am not old enough to have seen the Beatles live, although I have seen Paul McCartney in concert at the NEC Birmingham.

Throw away the Atkins Diet. Runners need carbohydrates, and marathon runners need LOTS of carbohydrates! Athletes competing in endurance events such as the marathon need large stores of glycogen for energy. The key to loading these energy stores is to taper mileage before the race which will preserve glycogen levels, while at the same time increasing the proportion of carbohydrates in your diet which will increase the total glycogen level.

During the 3 week taper you will be burning less glycogen for fuel and can therefore store more for the marathon race. Reduction in running mileage may lead to unwanted weight gain if you do not also reduce caloric intake. Try and reduce 100 calories for each mile cut out, but don’t overdo it!

Training for a successful marathon takes at least 4 months, and elite runners can have 6 or 7 months of intensive training for their record attempts. However my favourite time and one of the most important aspects of marathon training is the Taper – resting and locking in your fitness level.

Last night I was coaching at the track, and had one of the lowest turnouts for ages thanks to the London Marathon. Most of my coaching group are distance runners, and they are all resting, conserving their energy for the big day on 26th April 2009.

Unfortunately people struggling to control their weight often focus on limiting food intake. So they skip breakfast, have a small lunch and then finally have a proper meal in the evening, when they get home from work. If you recognise yourself here, then the bad news is that this is completely the wrong way to eat.

Cliches often exist for very good reason;  they have proven to be true through experience. The best cliche to remember for losing weight is; Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Dine like a Pauper. Breakfast has been named for a very good reason –  it is to Break the Fast. Your body has probably not had any fuel for over 10 hours, and in the morning it needs a calorie intake for energy.

John Lennon always denied that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds had anything to do with LSD, and was simply a coincidence. The song was named after his son’s painting. When asked what the painting represented Julian replied, “oh, that’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.  The story is probably true, but the surreal lyrics suggest that it was definitely inspired by the hallucinatory drug LSD. 

This isn’t the right drug to use for losing weight however, in fact I would suggest that no drug should be used to lose weight. The LSD I recommend is Long Slow Distance – running at a comfortable, easy pace, for as long as you can.

The marathon length of 26 miles 385 yards was set during the 1908 Olympics held in London. This strange distance has nothing to do with the original run from Marathon to Athens in 490BC, which is around 24 miles. Instead we have a British monarch to thank for this rather cruel distance, extended pandering to the whims of Queen Alexandra.

The original 24 miles killed a Greek messenger Eucles, who only had enough strength to report on the battle of Marathon with the words “Rejoice! We conquer” , before dropping down dead from exhaustion. To be fair to Eucles though, he did run the whole way in full body armour! – perhaps paving the way for today’s fun runner in fancy dress.

All you have to do is enter the world’s most unique athletic event – the Marathon.  It’s the only sporting occasion where world champions compete in the same race as mere mortals – fun runners and fancy-dress entrants included.  Running with world champions is not its only attraction however, most people run it because it’s very, very, very (add as many as you like) hard!

That’s the great thing about us humans, invent a race that is indescribably difficult, and you get thousands upon thousands of people queuing up to prove they can do it :O) 

Last night I got another fix and I’m only just coming off the high. Unfortunately I only get one rush per week now. When I was younger I got high two or three times a week, now the pleasure is becoming rarer. Still, when it happens it feels great and I want to share it with you, and encourage you to take the same drug.  It’s perfectly legal, perfectly natural and perfectly wonderful.

This is the world’s worst kept secret. Everyone trying to lose weight knows this, but many people choose to ignore it. So let’s remind ourselves; Exercise will burn up the excess pounds. I lost 5 stone through exercise and have kept it off for over 30 years.

When I was 22 years old I had ballooned up to 15 and a half stone (I am 5′ 10″ tall, so I was medically obese). I was not happy with my body image, so I decided to do something about it. I tried a crash diet called the ‘F Plan’ and started to jog around a field near my home. I thought I was too big to be seen running on the streets!

My friends all enjoy this story, and now I will share it with you….Cards on the table – the blog title is just to gain your attention, (but it worked, didn’t it)? I only LOST money in the sense that I failed to make £1,260,000 profit. However this is more genuine than most ‘fish that got away’ tales. My fish was actually in the ‘catch net’ for almost 6 months before it escaped!