You might be able to run through a tight hamstring or a sore quad, but an injured foot or ankle usually puts the brakes on a session – and can ruin your entire training season. Our feet and ankles, after all, are the foundation of our sport. When

’m plodding towards a 10K in September but I have a problem with hills. It's getting increasingly hard to find anywhere even remotely flat to run! In one way, it's a good thing as I'm entered for the Lanhydrock race which is hilly but it's really challenging

my mileage and practised running above 14,000 feet, but still I'd limped home after aggravating an old Achilles injury. Today I was ready for a charmed third try. I was fit, healthy and confident of a top-10 finish. Maybe I'd even break three hours

groups improved their VO2 max significantly, and reduced their 5K run times by seven per cent (running only) and eight per cent (running and cycling).  These results show that augmenting a running programme with cycling showed no drop in performance over

will discover which areas need the most work and this is where you should focus your efforts.You should stretch at least twice a week (around 20 minutes each time) if you want to improve your flexibility and ROM. Ideally, some form of flexibility work should

-up shouldn't differ very much from your usual running warm-up. The major muscles of the lower limbs - the glutes, hamstrings and quads - need to be prepared, so find a flat area and do a 10-15-minute graduated run that increases in pace. Try building up to 70

....hit the marathon wallWhat's going on? The energy to power your muscles comes from a store of about 2000 calories worth of glycogen in your liver and muscles, which is enough to energise about 20 miles of running. When you run out of glycogen, your body is forced

lifts. Repeat with left leg. Repeat with right / left leg for 9, 8,7, etc down to 0.Go straight on to 1d)1d) Same position as 1c) but lift straightened right leg and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat with left leg. Then right leg for 10 secs, left leg for 10

helps you reduce your time on the ground per footstrike by just 0.02 of a second, an almost infinitesimal change, your marathon time will be 12:36 faster (0.02 x 37,800 strides). And if the same improvement in leg-muscle power helps to improve your

’re starting out, machines are safer and easier to use than free weights. Begin with a simple programme of 15-20 minutes twice a week and build up slowly.6. Yoga and stretching(12 per cent; 36 minutes)The principle behind stretching is clear – get flexible