Hills are hard. That's why many of us run or ride around - rather than over - them in training. You might even choose races that are flat in an effort to keep your hill time to a minimum. But the truth is tackling hills will make you a stronger

. Kastor had a different approach though. She'd decided, with her coach, that the Athens course required a steady first half with a bigger effort in the second, as the course became hillier but conditions became cooler. Her perfectly-paced effort saw her

potassium-sodium imbalance after a hard effort. Try it Speed recovery after a run with a banana washed down with some water – the potassium will work with your body's sodium to balance your fluid and electrolyte levels. Cola Okay, so we're not suggesting

in training. On the track, five runners might run along in a line with the front-runner setting the pace and pushing everyone to keep up.  The goal is to go as fast as possible and if you fade, then at least you gave it your best effort.Another big difference

. Kastor had a different approach though. She'd decided, with her coach, that the Athens course required a steady first half with a bigger effort in the second, as the course became hillier but conditions became cooler. Her perfectly-paced effort saw her

Dibens held on to finish third in her first Ironman with a brilliant 9:10:04 - an epic effort that ended with her collapsing into her husband's arms.Ahead of the women, this year's Ironman UK winner Fraser Cartmell was the first Brit to finish. His 30th

a bottle in a smart souvenir holdall – so I headed for the refreshment tent where the free cold beer seemed like the perfect way to rehydrate and celebrate my perfectly timed effort of 6:28:50. For anyone still standing at 11pm, the day finished

.Starting a thread on the RUNNER’S WORLD website forums (runnersworld.co.uk/forum) is a great way to get details about races. The Seaford half-marathon wasn’t one of Scot Haggarty’s best efforts so he wanted to prepare others for the course: “There is an evil

be proud.Typical training weekMondayGym: half an hour of weight training TuesdayTrack session: Five miles of effort, eg pyramid 2,000m, 1,600m, 1,200m, 800m, 1,200m, 1,600m, 2,000m WednesdayAM Swim 1,000m including some arms/legs onlyPM One hour steady run

consistent finding is that fluid ingestion markedly reduces the perception of effort during exercise at both low and high intensities," says Professor Noakes, adding that, "all the evidence indicates that ad libitum fluid ingestion during exercise appears