Liz Yelling

Winner of a bronze medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Liz Yelling has run the London Marathon three times, finishing ninth in 2008 with a personal best of 2hrs 28mins and 33sec. As she is expecting her first child in June, she is happy to be having a rest instead of gathering strength for the race.

Yelling's tips for the big day have been honed through years of intensive training for cross-country races and both road and track events. "Stay positive and remember all the hard training you've done," she says. "Set off at right pace and don't get too excited by the occasion. Save your excitement for the last six miles, not the first.

"On race day, I'd get up four hours before and get a good breakfast, probably three or four slices of toast. If I struggle, it's usually because I haven't prepared properly or got my nutrition or hydration wrong. I'll have a hot bath to warm up the muscles in my legs and check my bag that I packed the night before. Make sure you get there early and locate the toilets."

And if the preparations don't go to plan, Yelling knows how bad it can feel. "It's not pleasant when the marathon goes wrong. It is just like hitting a wall. You slow down and you've got no control over that. You feel like you're running through treacle. You need some real mental strength when you're out there. People will surprise themselves with how deep they can dig and really push themselves."

Running the marathon, she says, is an "emotional experience. I've cried several times and you can feel anti-climactic if you don't plan any goals post-marathon. For me it's usually another marathon six months down the line."

Yelling takes about a month to get back into her routine, but the day after is always hard. "I'll have muscle soreness, walking like a robot and avoiding stairs ... but feeling happy."

The transformation from top athlete to expectant mother is something Yelling still finds difficult to grasp. "I went from probably being in the best shape of my life after Beijing, to falling pregnant and watching my body take on a life of its own. I have been laughing at myself in the mirror a lot. Getting breasts has been the biggest change. As an elite runner you don't tend to have the biggest assets."

Relieved to be a spectator this year, Yelling is going to be cheering from the sidelines. "I'm definitely going to watch this year. I'll be at mile 23, so come find me."

James Cracknell

Olympic rower and twice gold medallist, James Cracknell returned from Antarctica in February after his three-man team finished second in the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole race.

"I've done a little bit of running since I got back, and I'm going to do New York in November," he says, having chosen not to run the London Marathon. "It's not something you can do in a couple of months and enjoy, which is the most important thing. You'd probably get round but it'd be horrible."

Cracknell is a convert to the social side of the event. "It's an amazing day. Normally, when you're running on your own, it's hard work and there's no motivation. Here there's loads of people running; it's very different."

Recovering from his Antarctic experience, the excitement of the build-up is still a draw. "I am a bit sad I'm not doing it now, especially on a day like today. If I had been doing it there would have been the 20-mile runs and those weekends when you know you've got to do a lot of running. That's horrible. But by now that's all done and you're motivated."

He managed to pace himself well last year, but flagged towards the end at Westminster. "I've done two marathons before and my advice is don't change what you're going in with." Pacing, he says, is key. "If you've been training by yourself or with a friend or doing smaller races, suddenly you get to the start and there's 45,000 other people there. It's very easy to think 'I'll go a bit faster, I feel really good'. Know what you've got to do and what you can think you can do and don't stray off that."

There's rarely any sense of an anti-climax for Cracknell at his finishes. "I was very glad to finish. The number of people makes it really special, especially towards the end. It gets a bit thin around Canary Wharf. By the end you feel like a proper runner. You don't feel like a proper runner normally, I can tell you."

Around the course, having the right provisions is essential. "Eat a lot and take gels," he advises. "There are nice people who hand out jelly babies and sweets. Grab a handful of them and stuff them in. Jaffa cakes, crisps … actually, you won't feel like crisps. Don't drink too much but make sure you drink enough."

It's all the people in fancy dress that Cracknell says are "incredible", but is he ready for the challenge of carrying a heavy costume around the course too? "It's hard enough as it is, let alone dressed as something. I was overtaken by Elvis last year. That was definitely a low point in my sporting career. I like to think he was a very quick Elvis."

• Liz Yelling and James Cracknell were at the launch of the adiTOUR, an interactive sports roadshow from Adidas that will travel around the UK fitting people with footwear and giving advice about training.