So, the count down is well and truly under way.  By now you should have done much of your training and be up to near you peak mileage.  You'll have done one or two very long runs, and maybe have another one or two planned (although some will already be starting their taper).

So - how many long runs should you do, how fast should you do them and when.  These are some of the toughest questions you'll have to ask yourself as you prepare for the race, and like much in life it is down to individual taste to an extend.  Certainly, the consensus is that you should do these run slowly, saving your faster "tempo" runs for shorter runs during the week.  This does leave some nervous about how they'll manage the distance on the day having not run fast in training.  There are two things you can do to combat this - firstly, do a race or two over 15-20 miles to practice not only the pace, but also the feeling of running a race, the preparation and the crowds etc.  Secondly, trust in the experience of millions of others that doing fast long runs weekly (as many would like) will leave you too tired to rack up the overall mileage you'll need to run well.

We'd suggest two races in the period from 8 to 4 week before the race.  Remember, you'll need a couple of easy days training after each to recover properly.  For your long runs you should make the peak distance occur just before your taper starts - this is one of those things that are down to taste - some start 6 week before, others just 2, a sensible mid-point would be 3-4 weeks.

After that you'll come  to your taper - we'll come back to that soon.

Enjoy your running.