-given but pieced together the hard way. It started years earlier, as the young Emil began to explore the various routes towards improvement. He ran in heavy army boots and noticed, with an almost childlike innocence, the improvement he felt when taking part

again.Find a partner Speedwork takes more effort and willpower than going out for a gentle jog. It’s much easier and more fun to train with someone else – and if you really want to improve, try running with someone just a bit quicker than you

workouts that will ultimately make you a stronger runner and faster racer. As a general rule, you need at least one easy recovery run after every hard session you do.Fast FixesTo rein yourself in on easy runs, wear a heart-rate monitor on all recovery days

run fast.Not a bad goal for speed training in general. We don’t invent new stresses so we feel bad, but rather so we feel better, at least eventually. That won’t happen immediately, of course. The human system needs stress to improve, but it also

battling against traffic to make it into work on time. And worse still, 44-year-old Buzzard was gaining a few unwanted pounds every year. So to reduce his stress level and improve his health, he started running. And it was practically a magical experience

others. The 13 veterans among those 21 runners improved on their most recent times by almost 20 minutes. Even more remarkably, they did so with a daring new marathon-training programme from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Daring because

Running life: Runs three to four times per week; completed a 3:17 marathon in 1998 after recovering from open-heart surgery. Years running: 25 A variety of sessions – including rest – is the way to improve. Too many runners go out and run the same course

The long run is the staple of every distance runner’s diet. If you’re training for a marathon, it’s de rigeur. Novice runners use them as springboards to the finish line, and elite marathon runners do multiple long runs to improve their times. Even

is actually necessary to improve your performance. And unfortunately, elite and amateur competitors alike often believe that to get better, they have to train more and harder.The answer? The correct use of a heart rate monitor (or HRM for short) in your

acclimatise, you'll be able to run faster in your heart rate zones, but it would take several weeks to approach your normal levels.In reality, when training at altitude you'll be using your monitor as a means of damage limitation, rather than trying to improve