Briefly: Biggest changes for training was running 4-6 miles on Wed at 20-25 seconds under marathon qualifying pace, then week-end runs same speed as above starting at 6-8 miles building up as high as you can...I made it to 16 miles at that pace.(training your body to go faster) Plenty of rest on two nights previous to the marathon. Ran alone for the race at "my" pace. Not being influenced by others and finally starting out marathon by attaining an 8-10 minute "cushion" of time by around 18-19 miles. This worked for me. "Orangeman"