Some of you reading this article may have known John Walsh whilst others would have known of him.

Walsh was a founding member of the Malta Marathon Organising Committee and until his untimely death three years ago contributed to Maltese athletics immensely.

It was John who started these articles many years ago and several athletes managed to get to do their first half marathon through the help he provided with his articles.

I have kept many of these writings and over the coming weeks will use some of them which will still be useful and interesting to experienced marathon runners and those who will be making their first showing next year.

John had a unique and interesting way of writing and was extremely knowledgeable about anything to do with running.

I think it would be a waste not to share his thoughts with more people.

With the 2014 Mdina 2 Spinola edition being held tomorrow (this year starting at 7am), the first article I am using is the one published the day before the M2S race many moons ago.

I only updated anything that has changed from when the article was written... so here we go.

“Most experienced athletes will have learnt by now what foods to eat and what suits them.

“Any endurance athlete’s diet must be based around a high intake of carbohydrates and fats, since both these food types provide the energy to exercise.

“One important aspect of fuelling for exercise is the timing of the food intake. It is vital that all athletes have a large store of glycogen (the storage form of carbohydrate) in their muscles prior to the start of their event.

“It’s no use starting the event low on fuel and hoping to make do with carbo-drinks along the way. Although it is important to eat well throughout the day, the best time to eat for maximum fuel storage is very soon after your last training session.

“Immediately post-training, and for the next 2-4 hours, your muscles are extremely receptive to glycogen storage.

“After this period, glycogen loading in the muscles will slow down, no matter how much food you eat, and a large part of what you eat could be stored as fat.

Liquid carbohydrate

“Few people look forward to eating a meal of solid food immediately after a run, therefore this is a good time to consume some liquid carbohydrate in the form of sports drinks.

“Powerade, one of the official partners to the Vodafone Malta Marathon, is an excellent example.

“Those taking part in the M2S should have increased their carbohydrate intake by now. A good breakfast today, followed by pasta for lunch and perhaps pizza in the evening should provide sufficient fuel intake for a good performance.

“Just be sure not to over-eat to where your stomach feels uncomfortable.

“A number of runners will get up extra early to have a light breakfast of toast and tea/coffee about 4am for the race.

“This will top up their liver glycogen stores and provide a good lift to blood sugar so they can be mentally prepared for the rigours of competition.

“In 2000, we posted up a list of all Maltese athletes who had broken one hour for the M2S. Dating back to the first race in 1979, this list is a virtual Who’s Who of Maltese distance running in the last 25 years.”

So, that was John Walsh’s article ahead of the M2S, still very valid and useful for anyone to follow.

He had listed 32 athletes who dipped beneath one hour for the Christmas race. Thirty-five years have now gone by since the first M2S was held and the list has now mushroomed to 43.

Carol Galea (Walsh) is still the only woman included, Jonathan Balzan has been under one hour nine times and Kevin Zammit’s record of 53.47, set in 1997, still stands.

In 1979, there were 17 finishers. For tomorrow there are over 800 applications registered, yet another record.

St Patrick’s AC have won the most male and female team titles. For more M2S records go to maltamarathon.com/mdina_ 2_spinola_records.htm.

Don’t forget that you must register to collect your M2S running number today from the Nike Store outlet on Level 0 (Level Piazza) at The Point, Sliema, from 13.00 to 18.00.

Those of you taking part tomorrow, please run safe and wisely, use the pavements when you can. This applies for all your races and training runs and walks.