on a shorter race distance for this spring and postpone your marathon goal for a year.Do you have people to train with?Your preparations will be easier if you can find a partner, or better still, a small group to go out with. The added motivation

Here's how to race on the right foot – from the people who learnt the hard wayStart SmallThe best way to approach racing is to start small. Whether you’re planning to do your race as a one-off, or as the first step in a long running career, you

miles, 17 miles and so on. Also, try to do some faster mid-week runs so things will feel easier when you reach halfway.Q. I'm running a 20-mile race this weekend to gauge my pace. I don't want to run too hard as I may not recover in time and it might

to listen to your body and fit your training to its needs, rather than impose a rigid schedule. The pattern is: hard effort, followed by easy running until you’re ready to run hard again. As race day approaches, the efforts become easier and the recovery

long before the event should you take on your longest run? Dan EllingworthA.  1. I prefer going up a few miles each week with the occasional easy week in between, for example (in miles), 15, 17, 19, race/15, 21.2. It depends on your speed and your

The Fear: Tackling Hard HillsThe Fix: Put it in PerpectiveIn a race, focus on the fact that the hill makes up a tiny percentage of the race distance, advises running coach and  former Boston Marathon winner Lisa Rainsberger. To conquer your dread

in are comfortably worn in – the same goes for your vest, shorts and socks. Eat a familiar breakfast that you know you can run on, and if you’re not sure about how early to eat it, do your experimenting well before race day (most runners need two to three hours). Out

This year, an amazing 750,000 women will be walking, jogging or running in a women-only Race for Life 5K. They'll help to raise a whopping £46 million for Cancer Research UK across 240 events. Will you be one of them?We're here to help you every

for the first few strokes at the start of the race. Not only will this make it easier to see where you’re going in the initial, busy stages of the swim, it also means that your head is out of reach of other people’s feet. However, having your head out

Ignorance is no defence when it comes to the rules of a race. Flout them and you could pick up time penalties or worse, be disqualified from the race altogether. Wise up with our guide to a few of the most common, and avoidable, infringements often