THE WINNER of last year's Reading Half Marathon has said he isn't planning on beating his time.

Olympic runner Andy Vernon, 32, who finished the race with an incredible time of 1:03:08 in 2017, has said he is going into this year's event with a more relaxed attitude.

Talking to the Reading Chronicle, he said: "Last year I spent weeks in training for Reading, but this time I have the Commonwealth Games a few weeks afterwards, so that will be my main goal.

"I want to give Reading a good shot, I want to get a good run out of it but I don't want to pick up an injury so I probably won't be as quick as last year."

Vernon, who competed in the Men's 10,000m event at the Rio Olympics in 2016, admitted that even with months of training, conditions on the day can make or break a race.

He said: "Last year at Reading, there was quite a strong wind, which did set me back quite a few seconds.

"You can train in every kind of conditions, but you never know how it is going to be on the day. Something like the weather could be the difference in getting a personal best, but there's not much you can do about it.

"It's a great course though, there are quite a few undulations along the way, and quite a few good downhill sections which can help your time. My advice to anyone who hasn't run it before would be to not overdo it on the hills, just get yourself to the top, and then let gravity help you on the way down."

With less than three weeks to go until this year's Sage Reading Half Marathon, Vernon offered some helpful advice to runners who are suffering last-minute nerves.

He said: "It's the fear of the unknown, if you've never run the race before you don't know what to expect. It's natural to feel nervous, I get nerves before any big race, if you've trained and trained for it, your expectations will be high.

"The main thing to do is be prepared. Get your kit ready the night before, get your race number ready.

"Don't run in brand new trainers, try to get at least 50 miles in those trainers before the race. And if you are planning on using an energy drink, research which one will be given out on the day, and get your body used to that drink. It's important not only to hydrate, but to replenish your electrolytes as well.

"The main thing is to just enjoy it, soak up the atmosphere, put on some good music if that's what you need, or have a chat with your fellow runners, just have fun."

Entries for the Sage Reading Half Marathon close on Sunday, February 25, for more information and to enter visit http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com.