These tips are from Ryan Hall, the winner of the US Olympic Marathon Trials held last Nov. I got these from the August 2007 issue of Runner’s World.
During training…
1. Don’t be afraid of mistakes – it is better to make mistakes during training so they can be corrected before race day. Training = practice.
2. Simulate race conditions – if you want to run fast on road races, train by running fast on roads, not the track.
3. Know the purpose of each workout – make your hard runs hard, and the recovery runs easy.
Good luck to everyone running at the TNF100 (which started today and ends tomorrow), and the Robinson’s Buddy Run tomorrow 
thanks for the info. nice stuff
Joe, great post! I still have the magazine article.
By the way, congratulations on getting close to 1000km. It is an accomplishment and well deserved. You’ve like a number of runner bloggers have come a long way in a short time. Please keep running!
hi!
lonerunner… you’re welcome
sfrunner… thanks! yup, we should all keep on running!
I made a biographical site about Ryan Hall that your readers might enjoy. I found your site through a blog feed on it.
http://www.squidoo.com/ryan_hall
Those tips are great, by the way. My only caveat on #2 would be that a “mistake” that leads to an injury is a mistake you should be afraid of! In training, injuries are a runner’s nemesis. You’ve gotta avoid them at all costs!
hi loonyrunner,
thanks for the tip too… I just wish you were at the TNF. any way, I’ll be at the Milo Marathon this sunday. Don’t know if you will be there. If not, hope to run with you again in later races. Have a nice week…
hi!
bryan… I agree. That’s why we have to continue studying the sport, learning from the experiences of others. So that if we are to avoid making too many mistakes ourselves, it is better that we learn from the mistakes of those who came before us. Thanks for the link… and thanks for visiting and the comment
ibanrunner… Good luck in Milo. Too bad I’d be missing the race. Yup, hope to be able to run with you in future races!
Hi loonyrunner!
I did my longest run yesterday. I’d say, about 8k. I chose to ran in an oval track. Did stretching and warm-up/cool down before and after the run. It was an easy run for 3k, speed up on my 4th and 5th. Easy run again for the last 3k. My left shin is hurting now. Where did i go wrong? What do u think?
Hi running mommy… What your having right now is what is called shin splints. They usually occur when the body is suddenly overworked too much, too soon. In your case, doing your longest run yesterday, mixed with a little speed work. According to most coaches, to avoid injuries, its better to increase just one aspect of running during training. If you’re running long, don’t add speed at first. If your running faster, don’t do it too long yet. I’d suggest you rest for now, ice the affected area and take it a bit slower when you go back out running. Hope this helps and get well soon