to see how your fitness is progressing. We have suggested target half-marathon times for each pace group, but if you can comfortably go quicker, do.If you ran well within the suggested time: You clearly have the basic speed endurance. While this may

, and there is no way to fake them. Some people can build pure speed off a few short, sharp sessions, but you can’t do the same for endurance. If you didn’t have time for the run: The most important run of the week is the long run, and if you don’t work at this aspect

Whatever success, or not, our elite endurance runners currently enjoy, there is no question that Britain has a thriving and healthy racing scene. On any given weekend, you can find up to 60 road races around the country, and there are more than 2500

fast session a week. In November, ease down and give yourself three weeks of lower mileage, then start building up the mileage in December, without worrying about the speed. This should give you the endurance to tackle the RW three-hour marathon

to increase your iron stores through diet or iron supplementation.—Ellen Coleman, nutritionist and author of Eating For Endurance

distance first.A The basic training for a half-marathon is the same as for a 10K, because performance is directly related to oxygen intake – your basic running speed. However, there’s obviously an extra endurance factor, which has to be taken into account

’s more, you have a great endurance base which can be used as a platform for your next venture, provided that you give yourself time to recover after a marathon. Six weeks is the minimum interval between marathon-type efforts because you need at least two

in recovery days on which you do 15-45 minutes of striding at an easy pace.Try these work-outs: Long (for endurance) Stride easily for the duration of a long run.Speed (for fast leg turnover) Do 15 seconds at 220 strides per minute with light resistance

accurate? A In general terms, at the start of your 20s, the MHR is about 200 beats per minute (BPM). From then on, the heart gradually slows down, by approximately one beat per year. In endurance athletes, the MHR also slows as a response to prolonged

perhaps a one to two per cent increase in endurance performance, which may make a small difference in race results. Not all athletes benefit equally; some respond to altitude training, while some don’t.With altitude training at around 2,000-2,400 metres