With January pints of lime and soda in hand, 53 eager runners packed into the back room of the New Inn last Tuesday to hear a multitude of insightful and amusing marathoning experiences.

Turnout was so high that if each of the attendees had jogged just half a mile to the venue, we would have run a marathon between us.

Eleven speakers shared their stories, ranging from Ronan Moriaty’s “horrendous” first marathon, which he completed all alone having missed the race because of food poisoning; to Sandra Courtney’s “lovely and fluffy” time at London 2011.

Times and distances varied hugely – Nanda Griffioen told of her 100km ultra marathon in Outer Mongolia which took almost 19 hours, while Richard Gregory explained how running with elite Kenyans had helped prepare him for a 2.30 performance at London.

Despite the wide scope of experiences a theme emerged throughout the evening: enjoy the training, enjoy the race, and do not pile too much pressure on yourself along the way.

 'Running budget'

Godfrey Rust started proceedings with a QI-style quiz (which the audience won in style) and went on to reveal he had taken part in the inaugural London marathon in 1981. 

His key tip was to be consistent in training over the long term and realistic about your time in the race.

Nanda spoke of the run-life balance and “running budget” of time available, once family, friends and work have been taken into account.

“If you don’t have time to run five times a week, then don’t, but your target will be different” she said.

Nanda was the first of many speakers to advise against trying to catch up if you miss a training session, as it can lead to injury.

'How hard can it be?' 

Kieren Geaney explained the importance of starting to run long distances early enough in the training schedule to prepare your body for race day.

He found out the hard way what happens if you don’t, having entered his first marathon with two weeks’ notice after a friend dropped out.

As an accomplished half-marathoner, he thought “it’s two halves, back to back – how hard can it be?”

By mile 15 he was walking and found the experience “absolutely awful”. But, having vowed “never again”, he came back to do Berlin the next year in 3:37.

Electric atmosphere 

Ronan’s top tip after his solo effort round the streets of London was “don’t do a marathon on your own”.

He thoroughly enjoyed his next race however: Brighton in 2010.

“The atmosphere was electric and the only thing I regret was not writing my name on my top. I did it for the next one and it’s a huge boost,” he said.

“It’s really heart-warming how many complete strangers come out and support people during a marathon. The world isn’t as cynical as it seems.”

Tom Corbett was another speaker who, despite “hating running” after hitting the wall at mile 21 in his first marathon, had decided within two hours of finishing to give the distance another try.

He said the key thing he had learned was to build up core strength and to cross train, and also had found gels and protein shakes helpful.

Alcohol (but not Nesquik)

Finding out what diet suits your body is key, agreed trainee nutritional therapist Claire Walker.

“It’s not one size fits all and there is conflicting information out there so you have to find what’s right for you,” she said, although she could not condone husband Kelvin’s habit of refuelling with chocolate Nesquik.

Most runners know the importance of carbohydrates in the diet but Claire explained that fats are also a core part of nutrition for the physically active.

“Essential fatty acids are key to making sure that the body repairs itself,” she said.

Claire recommended eating oily fish two-three times per week to get the benefits of Omega 3 which, along with Omega 6, is anti-inflammatory.

She also said that runners should make sure they are fully hydrated all the time, and advised – to a loud cheer – that alcohol could be drunk “to a certain extent”.

Fizzy drinks however should be avoided because they leached calcium from bones.

'Race to train' 

Sandra Courtney described last year’s London marathon as “life changing” as she quit a 20-a-day smoking habit.

Her top tip was to have your name on your top in iron-on letters rather than pen as rain or sweat will make ink run.

For David "Flatfoot" Kelly, a vegetarian diet and unstructured running shoes are part of a “lifestyle change” which has gone hand in hand with ultra marathoning.

And after the “lesson in humility” of failing to finish his first marathon, David said he now aims to “race to train not train to race”.

“I want to enjoy running, and the racing is about being able to do more stuff in my training.”

Rachid's police rescue 

Enjoying training was also on the mind of Rachid Afouzar, who said he entered his first marathon in Marrakech “to prove something to myself”.

By the time he reached his second marathon, Paris, he was running 100 miles a week, a regime which proved so exhausting that he once had to be rescued by police in Richmond Park.

After a difficult race in Paris, Rachid joined Ealing Eagles and started tail-running and chatting to people along the way.

He found his running pleasure increased and his race times fell.

“You have to make it fun. If it’s not enjoyable you will never improve,” he said.

“You may beat your time or not beat your time, but enjoy it.”

Kenyan lessons 

This advice was echoed by the fastest marathoner of the night, Richard Gregory a former colleague of Kelvin’s.

“Don’t get stressed when the bad things or injuries come along, control what you can and let the rest wash over you,” he said.

“Don’t get your heart set on one race, if it doesn’t happen there will be another one.”

Richard said he had been lucky enough to train with Patrick Ivuti in Kenya and had learnt the importance of doing the easy runs easy and the hard runs hard.

“Rest is really helpful,” he added. “If you can get good rest and good sleep your running will benefit.”

Club together

Kelvin Walker wrapped up the night by describing the difference joining a club makes.

“Don’t train on your own, I absolutely hated it for my first two marathons, although I enjoyed the day.”

“Last January, I joined the Eagles and it was suddenly it was completely different.”

Kelvin also recommended checking your resting heart rate daily so that you can recognise when your body is stressed by illness or tiredness.

On race day he advised starting towards the back but not so far back that you will get boxed in by slower runners.

With that, glasses were finished, questions answered and a group of inspired and informed Eagles melted into the night, doubtless contemplating the challenge of running 26.2 miles – with a smile.