A runner’s body is like a tent on a windy hillside. The poles are your big muscles – the quads, hamstrings, glutes and abs – that keep you upright and moving. But to keep the tent stable, you need ropes and pegs.These come in the form of your

to straighten me out. And while I am now satisfied that pain does not exist, I’m having a hard time convincing certain wayward elements in my non-existent body. Take my right hamstring, for instance. It all began 20 years ago when I fell down the lighthouse

Q I’m 44 years old and have been running for 20 years. I stretch my calves and hamstrings before I run but have recently suffered a calf strain after a few miles. How can I avoid this and how should these injuries be treated when they occur?A From

Q I’m a 17-year-old middle-distance runner. Last year I started growing really fast and reached 6ft 6in. Now I regularly experience pains in my upper arms, hamstrings and thighs after harder runs. My GP says I should stretch more, while my coach

, but they still hurt like buggery if I so much as get out of bed in a hurry.Not that it’s made much difference to my training, since the Alpine 78K last summer turned my hamstring into a sort of pain-sensitive stalactite. In any case, I’ve joined The Gym. All

attended in our every need by flocks of tiny Thai girls, quick and pretty as humming birds.Then I had a consultation with the spa’s medical officer. I made the mistake of mentioning my chronic hamstring pull, and I was catapulted into a week-long regime

Runners usually talk about muscles in terms of quads, glutes and hamstrings. Exercise physiologists, on the other hand, talk about muscles in terms of fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibres - which is one of the reasons why physiologists aren't invited

, what you ate, the weather and even your general mood before, during and after each run," adds Wood. "It'll help you identify patterns and the cause and effect of good and bad runs." And training logs don't have a ‘use by' date. "I have all my training

in longer stance phase (total foot/ground contact time) than a firmer surface. The extent of hip and knee flexion on foot contact were greater on sand, and hamstring activation was higher.If you're accustomed to running mainly on road, Dr Nicholas

Add five minutes each to the envelope run and resistance routines Afterwards, do five quick stretches. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds per leg.1. Standing quad stretch2. Seated iliotibial band stretch3. Lower back stretch4. Hamstring stretch5. Hip flexor