background, having only been running for a few years, so long runs are going to be very important in building more endurance. She already regularly runs up to 35 miles a week so early weeks at around 30 aren't going to be a problem for her and the 20 mile

Sam Murphy's tipsRun an assessment raceFebruary is a great time for an assessment race. It's been long enough for you to have made a discernible difference to your fitness level, but it's still far away from the big day for you to be able to put

running – you decide how long and how fast – and is used by both newcomers and Olympic-calibre athletes. For new runners, the flexibility makes fartlek runs an ideal introduction to speedwork.‘Fartleks allow the body to gradually adjust to harder training

on the left hand side. During my long runs I start getting aches and numbness down the top of my leg and as the run gets longer the front. The numbness has stopped me doing any tempo work but I have managed to keep plodding out on long runs but need to stretch

. I was in a swimming club but I wasn’t really improving anymore and the opportunity to do a triathlon came along and I started doing a lot better at triathlon and really enjoyed it. I’d never really done much running up until the age of 15 or 16