Ospreys chairman Rob Davies believes a British and Irish league will be launched in 2022-23 after investments from private equity company CVC.

Davies also predicted a more stable financial future for Ospreys and their Welsh rivals after a turbulent period.

CVC has invested in the English Premiership and Davies expects their in-principle £120m for the Pro14 to lead to British and Irish competition.

Davies said talks are "proceeding quite well".

He added: "That will enable a different outlook, planning towards a season in a better, more structured way so that then you can fit in your league and Six Nations in a more orderly fashion instead of having this disjointed way that it currently is.

"That is the opportunity and that's what makes it exciting. It [a British and Irish league] will be in 2022.

"It is as certain as once you get these hedge funds involved and there's lots of money on the table. Something is going to happen.

"It will be nothing to do with me, but I'll vote for it."

Davies says recent developments in Welsh rugby's Professional Rugby Board (PRB), the umbrella body for the Welsh Rugby Union and regions Ospreys, Dragons, Scarlets and Cardiff Blues, offer hope for the future.

Last season was bedevilled by rows over a proposed merger of Ospreys with Blues, then Scarlets, which ended in bitterness and rancour.

But after saying last season the Ospreys had their funding cut by £900,000, Davies believes the future looks brighter for all Wales' professional teams, especially with the expected boost of £35m into the Welsh game from the CVC deal.

"With the help of the PRB and others we are making very good progress into achieving our ambition to be a highly competitive region when the British & Irish League commences," said Davies.

"All the TV deals are due to expire in two years time: 2022 season.

"What will happen is that the CVC who already have an interest in the English league are attempting to secure the rights to the Six Nations. That discussion is well advanced.

"As you might imagine when you are dealing with the English, French, Irish and Scots, and then add in the Italians and the French, it's not going to be easy to get consensus.

"But those negotiations are proceeding quite well. The timescale for that is probably the middle to the end of the autumn internationals next year."

'One of Welsh rugby's biggest steps forward'

Davies joined the PRB at a volatile moment in Welsh regional rugby's history in March, 2019.

He suggested a spirit of co-operation has since prevailed, saying: "I've been involved for seven months now and last week was probably one of the biggest steps forward that board has taken, in that we agreed the new distribution model, which guarantees funding for a period of years.

"Since the game went professional in 1995 it's probably the most exciting development I can remember. It is fundamental to the future of the game in Wales.

"It is an agreement that gives all of us a fair chance to build a business model."

Davies was speaking as Ospreys confirmed Allen Clarke has left his role of head coach and says coach development should improve in Wales as a result of the PRB funding model.

"It is a pre-requisite now that as part of our business model we have a certain amount of funding for coaching.

"There's a perception, rightly or wrongly - probably rightly - that coaching in Wales has been under-funded. We don't develop, particularly well, our own coaches. We've never historically had that many coming through.

"But there is a larger sum of money available for all regions to invest in the development of coaches, but in particular the quality of the coaching set-up.

"And those funds became available only last week, so as part of this review we will be looking to implement the funds available to us in the best possible manner and I suspect we'll be having a process starting very quickly."

VENTURA, Calif. – Kyle Larson made a late charge past Cannon McIntosh and held on through a double-overtime finish at Ventura Raceway to win his third Turkey Night Grand Prix on Friday night.

The 79th running of the Thanksgiving Classic, postponed a day due to weather, actually finished in the early hours of Saturday morning due to a rain shower that halted the proceedings mid-way through.

But neither the rain nor a 13th-place starting spot could stop Larson from kissing the iconic Aggie Trophy at the end of 98 laps, as he charged through the field before making the winning pass on a restart with 11 to go.

From there, Larson raced away down the stretch, despite several late-race incidents that brought McIntosh back to his bumper in the waning moments.

Larson took the twin checkers in front by .893 seconds with the No. 1k Lucas Oil/iRacing King-Speedway Toyota for his 19th career NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series win, fourth of the season and third in a row to close out the year.

It was his fifth win in six starts since debuting his own Kyle Larson Racing midget entry, but Friday night’s victory wasn’t easy, as a rough-and-tumble Ventura surface wreaked havoc on the Turkey Night field.

“It’s a great feeling to win this event for the third time. I’ve always run well in the Turkey Night Grand Prix, and to get another one means a lot,” said Larson in victory lane. “I had to work hard for that one; everybody did, just to get to the checkered flag. That (track) was extremely rough, but that made it fun too, because it was extremely challenging and the ruts changed all throughout the night.

“Hats off to everyone at Ventura who worked so hard to get this one in. At one point, when it was raining, I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to,” he admitted. “But glad we did and we’re the ones celebrating.”

Though Larson was the eventual winner, McIntosh was the start of the show for nearly three-quarters of the distance at the beachside, fifth-mile dirt oval.

The 16-year-old Oklahoma young gun drove from third to first – passing polesitter Kevin Thomas Jr. and Spencer Bayston on a lap-21 restart on the outside – and fended off all challengers for most of the night.

McIntosh drove like a veteran and opened up a lead of more than four seconds at times, appearing much like a rookie who could win the Turkey Night Grand Prix and etch his name in the history books.

However, the right-rear radius rod broke off McIntosh’s family-owned No. 08 with roughly 20 to go, hampering the handling and drivability of his car and making him easy prey for Larson in the final laps.

It showed when Larson caught McIntosh in traffic and rapped on his rear nerf bar just before Jesse Colwell stopped at the flagstand to bring out the race-changing yellow with 87 laps complete.

That set up a restart with Larson on McIntosh’s tail, and when the teenager hit a rut just the wrong way in turn three on the 88th rotation, Larson pounced with a run to the outside and never looked back.

“Cannon, I really do feel like had the best car,” Larson noted. “He was really fast. I finally noticed the issue he was having with the right-rear radius rod on the caution right before I got around him, and at that point I knew I had to put together a good lap to get by him quick. Luckily I was able to get through (turns) one and two well, and then got past him over there in three and four. That was a big move.”

Issues for Ben Worth brought out a yellow with seven laps left, following which McIntosh briefly pressured Larson once more, but after that it was no contest out front.

Not even a flip by Tyler Courtney after the white flag, or a subsequent spin in turn one by Rico Abreu on the first overtime restart, could stop Larson from taking home the $6,000 winner’s prize at that point.

McIntosh came home a bittersweet second and was declared Don Basile Rookie of the Race, becoming the highest-finishing first-time Turkey Night starter since the inception of the award in 1998.

Spencer Bayston completed the podium, just ahead of Jason McDougal and Carson Macedo.

Courtney’s championship season in the USAC National Midget Series came to a close with his end-over on lap 97, relegating him to an 18th-place finish. Meanwhile, Robert Dalby retired before halfway but still hung on to claim the USAC Western States Midget Series title over rival Cory Elliott.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

Everything you need to know about this weekend's Premier League action, all in one place.

Jump to: How will Arsenal react? | How will Chelsea cope without Abraham? | Man to watch | Game not to miss | Stats of the weekend | Team that needs a bit of luck | One thing that will definitely happen | Predictions

The weekend's big questions

How will Liverpool cope without Fabinho, their first big test?

While an eight-point lead at this stage of the season certainly seems pretty commanding, there are any number of things that could go wrong and lead to Liverpool not winning their first title in 30 years.

One of them is key injuries: They have a strong squad, but if the wrong players are struck down for a significant period of time, the team could suffer. Virgil van Dijk is one, Andy Robertson another, but the one they have to worry about right now is Fabinho.

The Brazilian is the solid core around which this season's success has been built, but hearts sank on Wednesday when he limped out of their Champions League draw against Napoli with an ankle problem. Jurgen Klopp described the prospect of losing Fabinho as "massive" and admitted "I don't want to say what I expect," about the severity of the problem.

Fabinho will certainly be missing for the visit of Brighton. Graham Potter's side aren't the most fearsome of opponents, but if Liverpool can get through it without Fabinho, then one of the hurdles to them retaining their healthy lead in the Premier League will have been negotiated.

What impact will the sacking of Emery have on Arsenal?

It was tough not to feel a little sorry for Unai Emery as he watched his side slump to a 2-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt in an emptying stadium on Thursday. He should have been yanked out of there long ago, for everyone's sake, so the news of Emery's sacking on Friday morning was very much a case of better late than never. It's not just that they have gone seven games without a win, their worst run in 27 years, more that everyone could see it coming and it was never going to improve under him.

But will it under Freddie Ljungberg, in place for their trip to Norwich on Sunday? This is still a very decent set of players, particularly going forward, which was why the club's failure to make a change was so frustrating: Emery was making them less than the sum of their parts, and even though Ljungberg will only have a couple of days to prepare them, he should benefit from simply not being the man he's replaced.

How will Chelsea adapt without Abraham?

If Tammy Abraham has to miss Saturday's game against West Ham with the hip knock that forced him out of the Valencia game, it will be interesting to see how Chelsea adapt. The chances are that Olivier Giroud will come in, but he has barely played this season and hasn't scored for Chelsea yet, though he has four in six for France. More to the point, he operates in a different manner from Abraham, which could have a significant impact on the side that Frank Lampard picks.

With someone like Giroud, it's best to pick an attacking line of three behind him to best capitalise on his hold-up skills, which would probably mean Mason Mount and a couple of wingers. But he would then have to drop one of Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante or Jorginho, none of whom deserve to be on the bench on current form. One small change in personnel could lead to plenty of other questions for Lampard.

Man to watch

David Martin

David Martin has enjoyed a pretty decent career. He isn't a household name and would not exactly cause a stir walking through the Westfield Shopping Centre near West Ham's London Stadium, but having started out as a youngster at Wimbledon, he signed for Liverpool (although he never played) and went on to have a perfectly respectable few years at MK Dons and Millwall. He also has a sentimental attachment to West Ham, being the son of club legend Alvin Martin.

When he signed for the club in the summer as their third-string goalkeeper, he probably didn't think he would actually get to play at any stage, but Roberto, the man ahead of him in the pecking order, has been so calamitously bad that Manuel Pellegrini really has no choice but to give Martin a go now. A game against Chelsea would usually be the deepest of deep ends to be thrown into, but Martin surely cannot be any worse than Roberto and the avoidance of humiliation at Stamford Bridge might just save Pellegrini's job. For now.

The game you're not planning to watch but should

Wolves vs. Sheffield United

A game on a sleepy Sunday afternoon when there are a few more high-profile fixtures not only on that day but also at that time: This one will probably be down your list of potential ways to pass the hours. But not so fast. The game holds some interest simply because it is between a couple of teams who have recently both won promotion from the Championship and found a way of more or less immediately succeeding in the top flight.

The sides have enough similarities to be worthy of comparison but enough differences to make it a diverse contest. Plus it's a fixture between sides who, in their own ways, play exciting football. This one could be a case study for aspiring Premier League teams to watch and learn.

Stats of the weekend

Information courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information group.

- Newcastle's Miguel Almiron has had more shots without scoring than any other Premier League player this season (22).

- Man City's Gabriel Jesus has scored seven goals in his past eight Premier League starts.

- Chelsea play their 250th Premier League London derby. The Blues have won more such games (128) than any other side in the competition's history.

- If Liverpool avoid defeat against Brighton, it would see them equal their all-time longest unbeaten run in top-flight history (31).

- Tottenham have won all four of their Premier League home games against Bournemouth by an aggregate score of 13-0.

- Only Norwich (three) and Watford (four) have scored fewer away goals than Arsenal (five).

- Aston Villa's Jack Grealish has carried the ball farther than any other Premier League player this season (3441 metres). He's created 17 chances after carrying the ball (moving the ball five or more metres), more than any other player in the competition.

The team that needs a bit of luck

Everton

It's one step forward, one massive push back about 50 yards for Everton at the moment. A win over Southampton was followed by defeat at home to Norwich, the recriminations long and loud and leaving Marco Silva dancing on a pinhead, trying to keep his job. That's the bad news.

The really bad news is that Everton's next three fixtures are against Leicester, Liverpool and Chelsea, with Manchester United and Arsenal (plus Leicester again, in the Carabao Cup) to come after that.

A team playing as badly as Everton won't survive that sort of run without a little fortune, which they will be praying for when they visit the King Power Stadium on Sunday.

One thing that will definitely happen

Southampton vs. Watford will be unrelentingly grim

The point of football matches is that they're watched. Whether it's in person, on TV or on the internet, the game there to be observed. If there is nobody there to observe, has it actually happened? But the authorities might want to make an exception for this one, a match that promises to be so unrelentingly grim that watching it simply cannot be advised by anyone sensible.

Instead, the whole business should probably take place behind closed doors, with an independent observer present to note down the score and (if there are any) scorers, report the result and update the league table accordingly. That's it. Allowing the public to witness this depressing spectacle is simply not socially responsible.

Predictions

Newcastle United 1-2 Manchester City
Tottenham 2-0 Bournemouth
Liverpool 4-1 Brighton
Chelsea 4-0 West Ham
Burnley 0-1 Crystal Palace
Southampton 0-0 Watford
Wolves 2-2 Sheffield United
Norwich 1-3 Arsenal
Manchester United 2-0 Aston Villa
Leicester 3-0 Everton

Queensland 240 (Heazlett 135, Bird 3-55) and 0 for 18 beat Tasmania 107 (Steketee 5-19) and 150 (Bailey 82, Steketee 4-32) by ten wickets

Mark Steketee made the most of helpful conditions for pacemen at Hobart's Bellerive Oval to complete a first-class career-best match haul of 9 for 51, and Sam Heazlett hit 135 in the first innings to lead Queensland to a ten-wicket win, inside two days, over Tasmania.

Steketee's 5 for 19 in the first innings - also his innings best - had shot Tasmania out for 107 on the first day before Heazlett led the reply, ending the day on 54 as Queensland got to within nine runs of the Tasmania total. On the second day, Heazlett completed his fourth first-class century, and went on to score 135 in just 198 balls, his career-best score studded with 20 fours and a six.

He got decent support on the second day from No. 10 Mitchell Swepson, who hung around for 36 balls, and hit six fours in an innings of 37 before becoming the ninth man out. The total was 9 for 219 then, and Heazlett then stepped up the scoring to add 21 for the final wicket with Billy Stanlake, who faced six balls without scoring a run.

That gave Queensland a 133-run first-innings lead, which Steketee built on with three wickets within the fifth over of Tasmania's second innings. Steketee sent back Jordan Silk first in his second over and then, in his third, accounted for Alex Doolan and Ben McDermott as well. With Cameron Gannon dismissing Beau Webster, Tasmania were 4 for 15 after five overs, looking at going down by an innings.

That it didn't happen was chiefly because of Australia's new selector George Bailey. Coming in at No. 4, Bailey did what he could with the remainder of the batsmen, scoring 82 in 157 balls with 13 fours before becoming the ninth man out. The next highest for Tasmania was Jackson Bird's 22 as Steketee's 4 for 32, Gannon's 2 for 36 and Jack Wildermuth's 2 for 24 shot them out for 150.

The target of 18 runs was knocked off in 5.3 overs by Bryce Street and Matt Renshaw.

Stuart Broad has challenged England's batsmen to bat for 150 overs and "set up the game" over the next couple of days in Hamilton.

Having been frustrated for hundreds of overs by New Zealand's batsmen in the series to date, Broad urged his team-mates to show similar determination if England are to secure a series-equalling victory. And while it wouldn't quite be true to suggest that Broad intimated the bowlers had done their job, now let's see the batsmen do theirs, it wouldn't be entirely untrue, either.

England's bowlers again performed with heart and stamina in restricting New Zealand to 375 on a docile pitch in Hamilton. But England's batsmen were soon struggling in reply and were probably fortunate to reach the close with just two wickets down. Rory Burns was dropped twice.

ALSO READ: Pope keen to prove he's a keeper

That left Broad calling on his batting colleagues to seize the opportunity to record a substantial total over the next day or two. And he called on Burns, in particular, to make a telling contribution.

"We know we've got to go and bat 150 overs here to set up the game on day five," Broad said. "Our opportunity is there. There's not a lot happening in the pitch, there's not a lot of scoreboard pressure. There's a chance for a couple of people to go and get hundreds.

"Someone like Rory Burns is our key batsman because he's a player that has his areas that he scores in. If he can stay in that bubble and not chase balls outside off stump, he's someone who could go and get 200. We need someone to go and get a big hundred for us to win this game and we've got the players to do it. If a batsman really applies himself on these pitches and doesn't play loose shots and wants to just score in their area, they can be a real handful."

While Broad's words were, no doubt, meant as encouragement, he could be forgiven if there was an element of frustration behind them, too. For Broad was one of the bowlers sentenced to 201 overs in the field in New Zealand's only innings in Mount Maunganui after England's batsmen squandered the opportunity to make first use of a benign surface. At one point on day two, with the score 277 for 4, it looked as if England might make a game-defining total, but a first innings of 353 turned out to be deeply inadequate.

Equally his highlighting of Burns' role is intriguing. Burns was originally selected as something of an old-fashioned, solid opening batsman. But in the last hour of play on Saturday, he played a couple of oddly aggressive strokes and was fortunate to survive. Broad, it seems, was gently trying to remind him of his strengths and the team's requirements.

"We had an opportunity at Mount Maunganui on the morning of day two to heap all the pressure on New Zealand for the rest of the game," Broad said. "And we didn't manage to take that. But if we had gone and scored 450-500 then they would have been batting under pressure.

"Equally, when they were 200 for 5 in their first innings, we had another opportunity to take pressure off ourselves and apply it to New Zealand. But Mitchell Santner and BJ Watling batted fantastically well. We gave the pressure back to them and lumped it on ourselves at the end of the fourth day.

"I thought it might change the balance of the trigger movement for the batsman. It caught him by surprise a bit" Stuart Broad on BJ Watling's dismissal

"Here we're not batting with a scoreboard of 500. They made 375. So, I think our pressure is reduced slightly and we just go and play. If you're a batsman, you'd want to bat out there, wouldn't you? If you were good at batting, you'd fancy that.

"For us to win this game, we'll need a batter to get 150-plus and someone else to get a hundred and leave ourselves a day to bowl them out on day five. I think that's how New Zealand won the last Test they played here: they got 700 for six. Arguably, they're probably 300 under par.

"If we bat through the whole of day three and go past New Zealand, we can apply some pressure on them in the second innings. If we don't go and get 400, we can't. The opportunity is there to bat big and bat big once."

While some will look at the scoreboard from these two Tests and suggest the bowlers might do well to worry about their own jobs rather than give advice to the batsmen, Broad has a point. The pitches in both Tests have been painfully slow and, armed with a Kookaburra ball that has offered little after 20 or so overs, England's bowlers have been demonstrated impressive control and discipline. "They make your work hard for the wickets here," Broad said.

Broad finished with 4 for 73 here. While he dismissed Jeet Raval, caught at slip in fairly conventional fashion on day one, and then ended Tom Latham's excellent innings when the batsman left a straight one, he was forced to think outside the box for his other two victims.

Watling, for example, was deceived when Broad deliberately bowled one from at least a foot behind the popping crease in a bid to put the batsman's trigger movements out of sync.

"I tried it once at The Oval, where Steve Smith was causing us a lot of problems," Broad said. "Because he triggered so much, I thought if I bowl it a yard before the line, it might surprise him and catch him off guard. But I hadn't practised it all.

"So leading into tea here, I thought I'd nothing to lose. I thought it might change the balance of the trigger movement for the batsman. It caught him by surprise a bit. I don't know if it did him for lack of pace, but you take anything out here.

"I've tried to vary my pace and I've tried to use the short ball at times. I've got a lot of respect for how Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Trent Boult have gone about their business over a long period of time. I looked at Tim Southee at Mount Maunganui and he changed his position on the crease a huge amount. Wagner bowls a bit of everything. The mindset is a bit different here. I feel I'm learning a bit as well."

Now it's up to England's batsmen to show they can pick up new tricks, too. If their first innings doesn't extend into day four, it's hard to see how they can claw their way back into this series.

Jofra Archer has been encouraged to keep a sense of perspective after a dispiriting tour of New Zealand. Archer finished with 1 for 75 in the first innings at Hamilton, taking his series tally to two wickets at 91.00 apiece.

Archer arrived in the country with a big reputation having enjoyed an outstanding start to his international career, but he has found the combination of the docile pitches and unresponsive ball hard to overcome.

But Stuart Broad, his vastly experienced colleague, urged him to reflect on what he has already achieved in his international career and look forward to the prospect of more helpful surfaces in South Africa, where England play their next Test series.

"Jofra has been a bit disappointed because he's used to making things happen in cricket," Broad said. "Sometimes, away from home, the game isn't played at the speed we're used to in England. The excitement's not there, the pace isn't there and the nip's not there. These pitches are tough work to get wickets on. You can't expect to come and get five for 30 on pitches like this. I don't think the Kookaburra ball is his best friend at the minute.

"But it will be when he realises that not every away pitch is like this. I'm just encouraging him to look forward to South Africa. That's a better place to bowl."

Archer's impact at international level has been so dramatic that it is possible people forget how inexperienced he is. Before this tour, for example, he had played only 32 first-class games and he had never bowled with a Kookaburra ball. His first four Tests came in England, on relatively helpful surfaces and with a Dukes ball, and saw him claim 22 wickets at a cost of 20.27 apiece.

Now Broad hopes to remind him of everything he has achieved in such a short space of time and persuade him to accept that such barren patches are inevitable.

"He's never experienced anything like it," Broad said. "He's played a lot of first-class Division Two cricket with the games in fast-forward. He said at Mount Maunganui that he'd never gone through a day without taking a wicket, but he's still so new to this level of cricket.

"He still judges himself on the wickets he takes but once he gets past 50 Tests he won't do that, he'll play on too many flat ones. His economy rate has been really good. His areas have been great.

"I said to him today when he had a none-for, you'd take your World Cup and Ashes for a couple of games without wickets. You can't get a six-for every time you step on the field. Just lower your expectations, enjoy being here and speak to someone in England who is cold in November. You're playing cricket in New Zealand - it's good."

We asked some of Britain’s finest endurance athletes to offer their top tips on how best to tackle 26.2 miles

Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned pro, taking on a marathon is still some task.

Here some of the elites share their top tips.

“Respect the distance but don’t fear it”

– Alyson Dixon, Olympic marathon runner and 50km world record-holder

My best piece of advice is to respect the distance but don’t fear it. 26.2 miles is a long way no matter how you look at it. You need to respect that distance and get your pacing correct.

You can’t go off too fast and ‘bank’ time or hang on like you can in shorter distances. You have to be sensible and start off, if anything, slightly slower than goal pace and pick up as you go on.

This has to be practiced during training by doing long runs and tempos which start slow and gradually pick up. Just doing short, fast training won’t help you to pace a marathon correctly.

All of this being said, don’t fear the distance and be constantly worrying about hitting the wall.

Again if you’ve trained correctly (run for the length of time you expect to race at least once) then your body will be much better prepared for those difficult final 6.2 miles and, if you’ve started at the correct pace, then you shouldn’t hit the wall and instead finish strong, passing people over that last section.

Training and pacing are the key!

“Learn to get a feel for marathon effort”

– Stephen Scullion, Northern Ireland record-holder

Your GPS isn’t always accurate and if you get what fitness you think you’re in wrong, it will misguide you anyway.

In 2017, I was 83kg in January, hadn’t run in eight months, had played rugby and decided to start running again. By March I was able to race Reading Half Marathon in 68:30. Then I went to altitude and trained with Scott Overall. Altitude is amazing but I was running at 5:30min/mile pace for marathon sessions.

I had no idea what I was capable of at the London Marathon. The 68:30 didn’t tell me much and 5:30 pace at 7000ft didn’t tell me much either… so on race day I ran at an effort that felt right. I averaged 5:15 per mile.

“Health is more important than fitness”

In 2016, I was in the best fitness I’ve ever experienced in my life but I got sloppy in training and took advantage
of the fitness, which caused a quad tear.

I ran two 10ks in the same day close to 30min, or under. I also remember doing 7 x 2km on the track with 100m jog. These weren’t super quick, but starting at marathon effort and finishing faster, then I took a lap jog, and ran a 1km in 2:32, I believe.

I wanted to break 2:30 and thought, if I did, my coach at the time would change my plan from the London Marathon to Stanford 10km. In retrospect, I was showing off and I tore my quad three days later on a tempo.

In 2017, I trained for 13 weeks, far less fit, but happy and healthy and I ran three minutes faster than 2016.

“Pick a marathon that excites you”

We all search for fast times, and fast times are admirable, but make sure the marathon you pick fits well with your life and motivates you to be disciplined and get the training that’s needed done – and done WELL.

“Stick to the marathon race plan you’re ready to run, not the plan you want to run”

This is very important. Everybody wants to exceed their own expectations and I see it every year on the start line of marathons.

Guys I spoke to 24 hours before, or often two hours before at breakfast, who planned to run with me at, say, 67:30 pace (for the half-marathon), or 68. The gun goes and 68 pace puts me at the back of the elite field, and the guys who talked about running with me, they’ve got sucked into a different race.

But it will hurt them and it won’t be long before I’ve passed them. Run the race you’re prepared for and not the race that seems sexy to your ego.

“Keep the easy days easy and the hard days hard”

– Matt Clowes, who clocked 2:13:57 for 25th place at the 2019 Berlin Marathon

Have patience in your build-up with training intensity and volume. Keep the easy days easy and hard days hard.

I think far too many athletes are running too hard on their easy days and I don’t believe in any junk miles.

Regarding training, keep on top of your long runs every week or every 10 days. Include two hard sessions (weekly) – one fartlek/interval and the other a long tempo or long intervals.

My other tip would be that if you’re feeling tired for a session then give it another day (before running the session).

I’m still a rookie at the marathon distance but I’m experienced at the half-marathon and I always remind myself to be patient.

“Focus on doing what you can with the time and resources you have available to you”

– Lily Partridge, 2018 British marathon champion

If it was someone’s first time I’d always say focus on the process of preparing for the marathon and have a few key pointers/runs/sessions/events within that preparation to focus on and don’t get too worked up on the details.

Focus on doing what you can with the time and resources you have available to you.

“Plan/Prepare/Participate”

– Richard Whitehead, former marathon world record-holder for athletes with a double amputation

Plan/Prepare/Participate. Every run is different and to have the best experience you need to do the above!

Marathon running is a fun journey so enjoy the life-changing success it brings but to do that you need to tick a few boxes regarding appropriate equipment/nutrition/training routine and the event you choose.

There are so many options so seek sound advice – not from social media but from experienced experts that can guide you towards achieving your goals.

“Marathon training is about ticking off the work consistently”

– Jonny Mellor, 16th at the 2019 Berlin Marathon with 2:12:29

Marathon training is not about smashing sessions out of the park but ticking the work off consistently. I’ve been guilty of pushing too hard in build-ups previously and being over-cooked come race day.

On race day itself, I break the race down into more manageable chunks to help me get through the distance. It helps make it seem less daunting.

VENTURA, Calif. – After getting bested by Tyler Courtney in the 360 sprint car Dash for Cash Wednesday night at Ventura Raceway, Chase Johnson was determined not to have a repeat.

Johnson rocketed out from the outside pole and never looked back, leading wire to wire in the 41-lap Jason Johnson Tribute Race for his second USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series win of the season.

Though traffic wasn’t too kind to him in the second half of the race, Johnson still opened up more than four seconds over the field before a late caution after the white flag set up a green-white-checkered finish.

But Chris Windom’s trouble and the yellow flag that followed could do nothing to stop Johnson, who fended off Geoff Ensign over the final two revolutions and took the twin checkers in front by .373 seconds.

“Man, wow … what a race,” said Johnson in victory lane. “I have to thank our partners, Pit Stop USA and Johnny Franklin Mufflers, along with everyone that helps out. Honestly tonight, everyone that built the parts and pieces on this race car deserve the thanks, because they held together well.

“I was kind of crossing my fingers there. Last year we had a steering box go, so I knew anything was going to be happening or anything could happen,” Johnson added. “But I’m just really happy that we were able to survive and be right here (on the frontstretch) at the end of it all.”

Johnson’s win came on a night that was not only interrupted mid-way through by a rain shower, but also featured one of the roughest iterations of the beachside, fifth-mile dirt oval in Ventura history.

“Holy moly. I may need a steroid shot or something to get me through the midget main; gosh, dang, it’s wild out there,” noted Johnson. “I’ve never been on a track like that before, so that was definitely a first, but  man, it was wild and I knew I had to get the job and just be smooth through a lot of traffic.

“I don’t know what to say really. I had no idea about the gap between me and Tyler; I didn’t know how fast we were. Really, I was just kind of out there cruising and trying to survive, honestly.”

Ensign passed polesitter Courtney with nine to go and held runner-up honors to the finish, with Courtney completing the podium ahead of Brady Bacon and Tyler Edwards.

Troy Rutherford, who ended up seventh, won the Battle at the Beach mini-series championship.

The finish:

Jason Johnson Tribute Race (41 laps): 1. Chase Johnson [2], 2. Geoff Ensign [3], 3. Tyler Courtney [1], 4. Brady Bacon [5], 5. Tyler Edwards [8], 6. Carson Macedo [21], 7. Troy Rutherford [4], 8. Austin Liggett [6], 9. Tanner Carrick [7], 10. Max Adams [10], 11. J.J. Ringo [13], 12. Michael Pickens [11], 13. T.J. Smith [9], 14. Ryan Timmons [17], 15. Jarrett Soares [25], 16. Ricky Lewis [18], 17. Chris Windom [14], 18. Blake Carrick [16], 19. Rick Hendrix [12], 20. Geoff Strole [24], 21. Bruno Bianchi [20], 22. Trent Williams [15], 23. Tristan Guardino [19], 24. Slater Helt [23], 25. Kaleb Montgomery [22].

Lap Leader(s): Chase Johnson 1-41.

Hard Charger: #21 – Carson Macedo (+15)

Jack Leach's tour of New Zealand has reached an unhappy ending after he was admitted to hospital suffering from gastroenteritis.

Leach, who was left out of the side for the second Test after England decided to field an extra seamer, reported feeling unwell after the first session of play on the second day in Hamilton. After initial observation from the medical team, it was decided to take him to hospital. He was admitted and is expected to stay there on Saturday night.

Leach's condition may be complicated a little by the fact he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease - an inflammatory bowel disorder - as a teenager. He admitted "it's something I'm always battling a bit" in an interview with the BBC a few months ago.

"If I was having a bad day with the ball, it would be nice to be able to blame it on the Crohn's," he said, "but I've never done that. If there's a day when I'm struggling, I know how to fight through.

"If I was in the middle of a big flare-up, I would feel at a physical disadvantage compared to other players, but I haven't had one of those since I was about 16.

"It's something I'm always battling with a little bit, even if I am very lucky to not be affected as badly as some people can be."

Victoria 2 for 205 (Pucovski 62*, Maddinson 59, Handscomb 44*) trail New South Wales 294 (Abbott 54, Nevill 50, Siddle 3-52, Pattinson 3-62) by 89 runs

Victoria lost only two wickets in 69 overs as they razed 205 runs off New South Wales' first-innings total of 294 on the second day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Will Pucovski, who had recently taken a mental health break, returned with an unbeaten 62 at stumps with Peter Handscomb for company. Victoria opener Nic Maddinson had earlier set the base with a fifty at the top.

The day, however, had begun with NSW's batsmen in the middle. Restarting on 6 for 223, they were bowled out 71 runs later, but not before their overnight batsmen Peter Nevill (50) and Sean Abbott (54) earned their respective half-centuries. Their seventh-wicket stand of 93 helped NSW recover from 149 for 6, and although, Sean O'Keefe and Trent Copeland chipped in with twenties, Victoria ensured they could not cross 300. Peter Siddle and James Pattinson took three wickets apiece.

Victoria's response began with a 72-run opening stand between Marcus Harris and Maddinson. Harris scored 23 with Maddinson making the bulk of the runs. When Harris was adjudged lbw to O'Keefe, Maddinson added another 38 runs with No. 3 Pucovski, but was dismissed on 59 by Abbott with the team's score at 110. But that was all the success NSW had for the rest of the day. Pucovski motored along to a fifth first-class half century while Nevill made 44 in 100 balls to put Victoria in the driver's seat by stumps. They trail by only 89 with eight wickets in hand at the halfway stage of the match.