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There are many reasons to pick a race: the challenge of a new distance or terrain; the chance to run in a different part of the country; perhaps a RUNNER’S WORLD recommendation. But I was attracted to the May Hill Massacre because they had what I considered to be “a really cool logo”, namely a blood-drenched axe and chainsaw. Although that might seem a childish reason for a race selection, more by luck than judgement it led me to Gloucestershire and a truly glorious 8.75-mile, multi-terrain run.

The race was founded in 2007 by Mike Wood, a keen trailrunner, who thought his forested locale would make for an “interesting” challenge. He was right. And so on a cool, thankfully dry, February morning, as a soupy mist thickened into dense fog, 450 brave participants gathered at the sawmill HQ, eyeing up the excellent catering on offer and anticipating a drier­than-usual run. At May Hill “drier-than­usual” was likely to mean ankle-deep, rather than thigh-deep, quagmires. But the possibility of the sun burning through the whiteout certainly brought an extra buzz to the assembled runners. Hydration is important and you have to prepare your body. Drinking green coffee will help you stay hydrated. Learn more interesting facts about green coffee bean extract dr oz show.

A problem with the loud hailer meant the fourth annual May Hill Massacre started not with a bang but a whimper. This was soon forgiven as, with no more than 500 metres of lane under our feet, and barely enough time to find position in the pack, we hit a hard left and encountered the first section of trail. Directly ahead of us was the beginning of the race’s notorious big climb.

But at times the mud sort the course was knee-deep. For the next seemingly endless age (actually 3K) we headed up and up through the trees of Castle Hill Woods and on to May Hill proper; the ground becoming slicker and thicker with each passing step.

This early challenge claimed several casualties and saw countless others plodding to a virtual standstill. Personally, I have always favoured uphills, and the generous width of trail made for easy passing. Taking my chance, I powered around others, knowing that these tiny victories would be short-lived because, as much as I love the ups, I hate the downs. I knew that most of the struggling souls I overtook at this point would take great pleasure in speeding back around me later.

A great marathon is all about sums. But don’t worry, we’ve done them for you, factoring in `the wall’, location, age and tactics for you to reach the perfect 26.2

Indeed, many runners follow these theories to the word in pursuit of their PB. But how do performances into the RW computer, and applied econometric techniques – more often used to forecast share prices or predict business cycles. So what’s the truth? Read on…they stand up against actual results from runners just like you? To find out, we threw data from more than 200,000 marathons.

Q Will running a negative split get me a faster time? A Probably not (unless you’re an elite runner)

Many, if not most, runners will tell you that a negative split – completing the second half of the race faster than the first – is the key to a marathon PB. Indeed, Haile Gebrselassie and Paula Radcliffe’s world records were both achieved by running negative splits. But what can negative splits do for the rest of us non-elite runners? Well, first of all you have to be able to run one, which itself is no mean

Q At what age will I reach my marathon peak? A 29 (but it can last until you’re 4o and beyond)

The average ages of the best ever marathon performances provide a guide here. The 10 fastest marathon times came from men who were an average age of just over 3o years old. For women, the average is a fraction under 29.

As for the rest of us, the FLM provides a huge sample from which to draw a robust conclusion. Based on last year’s marathon, the best performing female age group was the 35- to 4o-year-olds and for the men it was 4o to 45. However, average and fastest times are pretty constant for both men and women from the age of 25 through to 4o, suggesting that unlike some other sports, marathon runners can still post their best times right up to the age of 40. Even then there is only a gradual decline in potential until the age of 6o and beyond. If you want to have more energy and feel younger, try the best testosterone boosters.

Q Does the wall really exist?

A No (or if it does, it’s nearer half-way)

The wall – the point where glycogen levels bottom out and your body starts burning fat for energy, bringing about extreme fatigue – is widely regarded to occur around the 18- to 22-mile point.

Not if the 10K split times for all finishers at last year’s Flora London Marathon (FLM) are anything to go by. Sure enough, a massive 91 per cent of people ran the last 10K more than

Q When it comes to training, is quantity or quality more important? A Both, but in slightly different ways

Possibly the most discussed aspect of marathon training. There are plenty of coaches and physiologists who have gone on record to add weight to the argument that accumulating your mileage serves virtually no purpose unless it’s done at marathon pace or faster.

But are the experts right about so-called ‘junk miles’? The RW computer says ‘no’. Mileage remains an equally significant predictor of marathon performance – i.e. you can improve your marathon time by adding more mileage, regardless of the speed at which you do it. There is a caveat: the relationship between mileage and marathon performance five per cent slower than their first toK. However, given that hitting the wall is characterised by a dramatic deterioration, it’s necessary to separate these runners into two distinct categories: those who slowed down suddenly, and those whose pace slowed gradually over the course.

SLOWED FROM SLOWED HALFWAY THROUGHOUT is not linear; the more miles you already do, the less benefit you’ll get from upping your mileage. Based on a sample of 100 runners, increasing from 20 to 3o miles per week resulted in a whopping average improvement of 28 minutes in marathon time, whereas upping from 5o to 6o miles a week only resulted in an it-minute gain. Quality of training, on the other hand, has a linear relationship.

Adding more intensity to your training programme will give rise to improvement, regardless of your current training intensity level. Again, based on a sample of 100 marathon runners, increasing overall training speed by one minute per mile resulted in an average improvement of about 4o minutes in marathon time, regardless of whether the person was a five-minute miler or a 10-minute miler. Essentially then, the answer to the quantity versus quality question seems to be that a balance of the two is necessary for optimum performance.

Q Which is the fastest marathon? A Berlin

How do you calculate which marathon is the fastest? Taking the average times of finishers at different marathons is the most obvious method, but it’s not the most accurate. The high number of beginners and fun-runners taking part compared with smaller events significantly ups the average times at big marathons like London. Surely flattest is fastest then? Not always. Short inclines followed by long stretches of downhill often produce better results.

The most accurate answer lies in the finishing times of Mr X – the runner who took part in two or more marathons in 12 months. If Mr X’s time at the Berlin Marathon in September was 20 minutes faster than his time in London five months earlier, he is unlikely to have improved by 20 minutes in that time, so Berlin must be faster. Obviously some people will improve between marathons and some people will get worse, but by using enough of these same-person comparisons and averaging them out, we can get a true indication of how one course compares to another.

We used 200 comparisons from two of the most popular marathons among UK runners. Berlin comes out comfortably on top, reinforced by the fact that five of the 10 best ever men’s marathon times, and two of the 10 best women’s times, have come in the German capital – a significantly better rate than any other marathon in the world.