Hydration is often thought about differently from nutrition and carb loading – however, you can be slightly dehydrated over a few days and that will lead to a drop in performance, writes Dalston PT Matt Smith, Fitness First.

So make sure you keep well watered in this weather. If your flower beds need water, so do you.

Keep alcohol to a minimum and hopefully zero the night before as it hampers sleep.

On the topic of sleep, get plenty. Make sure you are well rested and relatively chipper to keep a spring in your step.

Regarding your step, now is not the time to be breaking out the brand new racers. Stick to your tried and tested pair – they will fit your feet better and minimise blisters and discomfort.

On the day, wear proper socks, not the invisible fashion kind – they slip and cause issues. Take plasters with you. It only takes a minute to improve the comfort levels of your nips and or blisters, should they need attention. Vaseline helps too (but just the nips I’m afraid).

Choose your race nutrition – be it jelly babies, wine gums, peanut butter or those sports glucose sachets. The latter should ideally have been trialled as high doses have been known to cause upset stomach and no one needs that at mile eight.

Pay attention to water stations – utilise them.

Then, get your breakfast down you (I’ll be having honey on toast) and a coffee and get yourself set for some fun. You’ll be seeing me and the rest of the team from the Gazette across the finish line.

• Dalston PT Matt Smith works at Fitness First in Liverpool Street and has been training the Gazette team for Sunday’s race. E-mail matt@fireandsteelfitness.com

You report “panic” among Labour supporters at the local election count when I lost my council seat in Stamford Hill (“Labour wipes out Lib Dems to retain its stronghold over the council”), writes Rosemary Sales, former Labour councillor, Stamford Hill. I neither saw nor felt panic. But there was anger that Conservative Cllr Benzion Papier – who has never spoken at a council meeting; has attended one ward forum in his six years as a councillor, and then only to state his name; and started surgeries in Stamford Hill West only in December last year – could have been re-elected.There was shock that the three to one majority in favour of Labour among the people who voted in person was outweighed by a massive postal vote favouring the Tories.But most of all there was disappointment that Stamford Hill West residents have been deprived of the opportunity for real and effective representation. As councillor I did casework for hundreds of residents from all communities and campaigned for improvements on the issues residents told me were important to them – particularly road safety, tackling anti-social behaviour and protecting our environment. Although no longer a councillor, I will continue to work with residents for positive change in Stamford Hill as well as campaigning for policies to improve the lives of our residents, including an end to austerity, properly funded public services, and affordable housing. I am writing this letter to the young people of today, writes Linda Noble, Springfield, Upper Clapton.I am an OAP and quite frankly I’m actually glad that I am.Before you do any act of violence, think positive: what have I got to lose by my actions? My life, my family and my liberty!Have you a younger brother or sister that looks up to you? Think of them.There are quite a few things you can do. When stressed, phone a friend, go to the park, read a book, study something!If you see an argument, walk away!My motto is: keep calm and smile! Throw away knives and guns because they are not your friends.We are all human and we should act humane!The problem about how the Coronial Service operates (Victory for Jewish and Muslim campaigners as judges quash Mary Hassell’s ‘cab-rank’ system) isn’t a matter of thoughtless ignorance about the comforts of religion available to believers versus the needs of those bereaved who do not share those views about observances, write Mary Pimm and Nik Wood, Gore Road, Hackney.

The problem is the service isn’t properly funded and supported to do the timely job it should be doing for all citizens.

As with so many services in our society, the government enjoys seeing us at each other’s throats about who gets the first crumbs and sits back while its responsibility for the inadequacy of the whole service to all of us goes unchallenged.