This week’s questioner has finally decided to kick the weed in order to improve her running times. Trouble is, she’s worried the cravings will get the better of her and she’ll lapse back into old habits. What’s your advice to help keep her motivated

Reducing your level of training to improve your race times might seem counter-intuitive but research exists to suggest that in fact, less can sometimes be more. This week’s reader is keen to put this theory into practice - can you help him strike

Training to run continuously for longer periods of time is a great way to measure your progress, but if you’re running at the same speed day in and day out, you’re likely to see your improvements plateau. Unfortunately for this week’s questioner

groups and preventing injury, taking a leaf out of a triathlete’s book might just prove a surprising ticket to improved running performance.What are the benefits of cross-training?Participating in different sports boosts your cardiovascular fitness

Training on hills will make you a stronger, faster and healthier runner, improving your leg-muscle strength, boosting your cardiovascular system, and protecting your leg muscles against soreness. Knowing these benefits won't make tackling them any

. If you have any negative thoughts they will just get in the way. – Pammie*Expect to get out what you put inYou can definitely improve your times even as you get older. I used to do minimal training, stayed well within my comfort zone and my times remained

's then that you should stop the action, investigate and treat the cause. As a runner, discomfort helps us to improve and keep going, get faster, run further, without being in some form of discomfort we would never improve, but pain is the result of something else

and you might even treasure the memory. It's a victory of sorts to even keep on going when everything's going wrong. – Broadsword Calling Danny BoyThink of it as fuel for next time Everyone has a PW at something - use it as incentive to improve next

. I was physically sick back then, overwhelmed by anxiety. It was very unpleasant. But now, as I have no chance of winning I just run my own race and try to improve my best times but also to enjoy it. Try adopting a lighter approach - in a sense you

CharlotteCombine the benefits of both to see all-round improvements I always ran on the road, then joined a gym and used the treadmill a bit. The result? It's shortened my long loping 11-minute-mile stride into a shorter nippier nine-minute-mile running style (I’m too worried