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Marathon runner. Bupa International Marathon diary Follow our medical director as he prepares for the London race

Dr Sneh Khemka, Bupa International's medical director, completed the London Marathon on 25 April. In this diary you can follow his training leading up to the race and get advice on running.

The end of the road

Dr Sneh Khemka running

Despite the inevitable encounter with the dreaded ‘wall’, Dr Sneh completed the London Marathon on Sunday. But there will not be a repeat … Read the last part of Sneh's marathon diary .

A marathon of medical issues

Person stretching

With only a week to go before the London Marathon, Dr Sneh looks at how mental preparation can help tackle some of the physical injuries that build up. Continue reading

Carbs: a pleasurable must

Carbohydrates in food

Although he is used to a healthy diet, Dr Sneh's body is crying out for energy-boosting carbohydrates as the training intensifies in the final weeks before the London Marathon.

Carbohydrates. Fifteen years ago I don’t think many of us would have known what they did, let alone where to find them. Now they’ve become a driving force in my life. And while for many they are a no-go zone, if you are training for a marathon they are a pleasurable must.

Known as the ‘energy-fuel’ of the body, carbohydrates can either be simple or complex. Being a simple sort of fella, the simple ones appeal to me more (perhaps also because they are sugars, found in pizzas, chocolate, snacks and biscuits). Continue reading

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Planes, strains and immobility

Dr Sneh Khemka

Dr Sneh offers tips on how you can warm up and warm down for your training, as his gruelling travel schedule begins to take its toll.

I’m writing this while I travel on a plane from San Francisco to Connecticut, which is a surprisingly long flight and makes me realise the geographical vastness of the United States.

It also makes me realise that two of the most important things when training for a marathon are mobility and flexibility. Being immobile in an aircraft is making parts of my anatomy that I didn’t realise existed suddenly make an appearance, more for their dysfunction than anything else.

It is well documented in the sports and medical press that warm up and warm down, as well as stretching, is important. But exactly how to do it is far from established: different coaches have different approaches, so this is how I find it best. Continue reading

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Beautiful sights and sore thighs

Dr Sneh has arrived in New Zealand and is feeling the effects of jet lag when he goes for a run along the coast of Auckland.

I must say that of all the beautiful coastal cities, Auckland really does stand out. The route I took wound me round the path running alongside the sea and revealed an affluent culture of boats and stunning hillside villas. Warm, verdant and fresh, this city provides the perfect environment for outdoor pursuits.

The running path was jammed with runners of all ages, from families to the wrinkled sexagenarians who rather embarrassingly overtook me. The roads were peppered with cyclists (the racing kind) and the sea awash with amateur sailors, including youngsters battling with their own individual dinghies. Continue reading

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‘Our bodies were not designed for this’

I’ve got just under two months left to go before the big day. And what a day that’s going to be.

The London Marathon is 26.2 miles, and will take place on 25 April 2010. When I first accepted the challenge I wasn’t really able to compute this distance. I mean, it doesn’t really seem that far, does it? The idea of driving 26 miles is not a big chore? That’s a reachable sort of distance, right? Continue reading

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