week-on-week improvements, perfect for keeping you motivated in the long-term.Those returning to running after illness, injury or childbirth also need to take things slowly at first – though you might not consider yourself a novice your body will take a

with total flexibility in terms of how and when to clock up those miles. Online running community fetcheveryone.com has monthly mileage groups, which are great for motivation. You could even run the year – 2010 miles works out as 38.5 per week! Start a

shows that when carried out over 12 weeks, it can significantly improve performance above endurance training alone."A strong body will significantly reduce the likelihood of injuries such as knee complaints and lower back pain. When recovering from

. "Research shows that when carried out over 12 weeks, it can significantly improve performance above endurance training alone."A strong body will significantly reduce the likelihood of injuries such as knee complaints and lower back pain. When recovering

, and that's something I really care about."To develop mental resilience, Ben Bright suggests occasionally attempting a training set you've never achieved before, such as 15 x 100m front-crawl intervals with 10 seconds' less rest than usual between each. "I

surface to run on – so it's generally a good idea to recreate outdoor conditions as much as possible on the treadmill by setting it to a 1% incline or increasing the speed slightly, to adapt slowly to outdoor running. When you do get going outside

"Look on a training diary as a coach, conscience and friend," says Steve Smythe, a runner and coach who's been writing down every run he completes since 1976. He's recognised that keeping tabs on his training is a great way to make the most of his

less body mass in the form of muscle – around 28 per cent in young children, compared with 35 to 40 per cent or more in the late teens.11-16 This is the age when talented runners begin to emerge. Girls have fully-developed lungs by the age of 14 while

if they're generally aware of your long-term safety," says Rob Pullen from the Owls running club in Leicester (owlsac.org.uk). Ask what contingencies they have for injuries during runs, whether they have insurance, and ask if they have a group for runners

five and 16, with a bit of a peak between seven and 13. But the differences in activity were staggering; while some ran in play for an hour a day or more and a further hour in other sports, others logged precisely nothing in play and a minimal 15