Setting challenging yet attainable goals is key to maintaining a long-term running career. After all, you’re more likely to stay motivated when you have something to work towards and can measure your progress at regular intervals. But picking
addressing the physiological effects of pre-competition sex and concluded that it "doesn't affect aerobic capacity, strength, balance, reaction time or any other factors that may influence athletic performance the next day". This isn't really that surprising
, there are the kids. So it’s hard to say I’m going to focus on this. To run 2:15 or even 2:30, I would have to be really serious. How does that square with your famously competitive nature? No problem. I’ll be running with normal, everyday athletes. My competitive fix
, and they all get so much from listening to each other; it's very motivational," he says.2. Go the extra mile If you haven't changed your race distance since you started triathlons, then the chances are your training hasn't change much, either. Even if you
plans to concentrate more on taking on 17 to 20-year-olds, the age at which runners are most likely to leave athletics, either through low confidence or social pressure."Ultimately the underlying motivation for me to do all this is to keep young people
Clubs regularly attend races as a teamThe days when running clubs were the sole preserve of ultra-competitive elite racers hell-bent on crushing the opposition at all costs and putting in more hours than Geb or Paula are thankfully long
and competitive runner. "When my schedule lightens up, I pick up the frequency, distance and intensity." 30 Think of it like sex – a little bit is always better than nothing. If all you have is 17 minutes to fit in a run, run for 17 minutes. 31 Be selfish. Don
