Running the Marathon - Fill in the missing words

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues! There are TWO words you will not need !
   ancient      battle     carbohydrates      cereals      compete      decades      dehydrate      including      lose      lowlands     mountainous      official      oxygen      popular      race      soldier      steady      strengthens      victory      vitamins   

Running has become a very sport. It improves your overall health and your heart and muscles. It also helps you weight and fight off stress.

The most popular running event in the world is the marathon. It is held in many big cities, New York, Boston and London. The marathon goes back to ancient Greece, when a ran all the way from Marathon to Athens to inform the people of a Greek in a against the Persians. Today the official length of a marathon is 42.195 km. There is no record because some courses are flatter and other hillier. During the last few marathons have often been won by African runners. They are at home in the regions of eastern Africa. Sports experts think that they have can take up more than people living in the lowlands.

Hobby runners must start training months before they in a marathon. In this time it is important to allow your body time to rest and muscles to recover from training runs. During the it is important to drink a lot so that your body does not . Runners should not start too quickly, but run at a pace throughout the event.

Eating the right food is also important when preparing for a marathon. Your body needs a lot of , so you should eat rice, pasta and . Vegetables and fruits give you the energy and you need for the race.