. My daughter was ill, then I caught her bug, was contagious and advised not to run; and now I'm going on holiday. With conjunctivitis so soon after my toothache, my Achilles heel appears to be strange yet painful illnesses - what next?! I've always

my mileage and practised running above 14,000 feet, but still I'd limped home after aggravating an old Achilles injury. Today I was ready for a charmed third try. I was fit, healthy and confident of a top-10 finish. Maybe I'd even break three hours

's painful but workable and not as bad as having achilles injuries or knee problems.Q. On an undulating course is it better to slow down on the uphill and speed up going downhill, or to maintain a constant pace? Ian Goudie 2A. I would usually go for equal

it seemed that I had given myself license to walk whenever I wanted.Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was all the extra water I had taken on, maybe the niggling Achilles problem actually slowed me, or maybe the 2:25 for 20 miles took more out of me than I

weakest area can make a real difference to performance; an injured Achilles tendon in 2007 meant she couldn't run for most of the year. "I think the injury helped me in a way because I had always struggled with the cycling and it gave me an opportunity

Coates, Clapham Runners (claphamrunners.com) Push yourself Focus on your weaknesses as much as your strengths – it sounds obvious, but ask yourself how often you choose to do the runs or gym sessions you find hardest. By facing your Achilles' heel

cruel tactics: amputations by machete, eye gougings, burns, injections with acid, rape, beatings. Young boys were coerced into working as child soldiers, while girls were often forced into sexual slavery, with reports that some had their achilles tendon

structured rehab and stretching programme. Let me know if you can.Q7) I've had problems with tight hamstrings before I started running and it lead to some achilles issues. Since taking up running I've had a few injuries, and tight hamstrings are usually

, as everything else went more or less smoothly.After my training was halted in January with an Achilles problem, I'd been working from the six-week RW emergency schedules, and sure enough, at about halfway I started to feel the lack of miles in my legs. The Isle

laid bare. Then the same thing happened to my left foot. At this point, with knees and Achilles aching, too, you start to think your body is telling you something, but at the same time all I was thinking was 'get to mile 25'.If you haven't grasped