painful in the morning for 5-10 minutes, but eases as you walk on it, something that you allude to. If so, try massaging the tender area with ice, and resting until the pain eases. This will hopefully prevent the condition worsening. If, however, it’s just

overloaded, and will become inflamed and tender. The best way to manage this on your own is to avoid running consistently on a camber and revert to your original type of terrain. As for treatment, ice and massage will help with the aching symptoms. Of course

!"Gareth Davis, on the Snowdonia Marathon. Obviously, any event that involves thick mud, tunnels, ice cold water, barbed wire and fire is going to come top of our tough races category. Others in our top five, though, offer a different kind of challenge.1 Tough

, ice the inflamed area for 15 minutes three times a day and take aspirin or ibuprofen. Ice immediately after running. To hasten recovery, cut down on running or stop altogether. Exercises with a resistance band will help to strengthen muscles

examples include soup, hot cereal, frozen yoghurt and iced tea. These foods also take longer to eat or drink, which slows your rate of consumption and helps you to further reduce your calorie intake.Keep a private reserve: Fill plastic bags with carrots

, as an added bonus, many people report that food actually tastes better when they use chopsticks!Stay single: Instead of buying jumbo-sized economy packs of ice cream bars and other treats at the supermarket, buy single-serving packages. Otherwise it can

If you're looking for a way to keep your training consistent when the temperature drops, the rain starts to fall and the pavements ice up, there is a simple solution: move to Australia. If, however, that seems a little impractical, you can still

.From Spitsbergen, a worryingly old 50-seat Russian transport plane picked us up and dropped us beside Camp Borneo, an incongruously named floating ice camp a few miles from 90o north. The camp, our base for two nights and the site of the marathon, was a surreal

bottle that you have not opened yourself. Do not use ice in your drinks and use bottled water when you brush your teeth. Avoid raw fruits and vegetables unless they are peeled or cleaned. Eat off clean plates and use clean cutlery. Avoid unpasteurised

.Self-treatmentRICE to the letter. Ice to restrict fluid formation and elevation for damage should be complemented by aspirin or ibuprofen in one of its forms to minimise inflammation.Medical treatmentAlong with other first aid, active electrotherapy by a physiotherapist will speed