Whatever type of runner you are, you should give serious consideration to investing in a heart rate monitor. From as little as £40 you can add a whole new dimension to your training. Strap on a heart rate monitor and you’ll never run too quickly

to an average of 83 and a maximum of 111 - the two-for-one sausages offer was pretty exciting. "I'm amazed by your shopping heart rates," says Dunbar. "I'd expect them to be higher, you must enjoy it more than most people."—Rob SpeddingAs well as keeping you

started her slow-to-fast journey, though, Gardener needed to invest in some electronic gadgetry. "I bought a heart-rate monitor after my second marathon,"says the 44-year old from Hayling Island in Hampshire. "I found a thread on the www

trying. So my first step would be to add a shorter run to your weekly programme. You could replace one of your hour-long sessions with one of 20 minutes, or better still add it to your schedule as an extra run. If you have a heart-rate monitor use that

.aldi-stores.co.ukComfortably Done… Polar M-Series Chest Strap – from £99 (with a monitor)It’s taken a few years, but heart rate monitors are now a standard piece of running equipment. There is, however, one feature of HRMs that still puts some people off – the chest strap

-shirt to go with the shoes – which is highly recommended – then the costs start to add up. And you'll say that your bank statements prove the theory spectacularly misguided after you've bought your first watch, invested in a heart rate monitor or rewarded

functionEvaluation £180 is a lot of money for a stopwatch, and if that’s all you want, this isn’t the watch for you. What you’re actually paying for are the heart rate functions, but the monitor is also excellent and easy to use. To time a session, pull

With so many heart-rate and speed-and-distance monitors on the market it’s easy to forget that you can still buy sports watches that don’t receive signals from space or warn you that you’re in imminent danger of cardiac arrest. And if you’re happy