, rather than actually getting quicker. After a while you can hit mile splits within a second or two and judge your effort to perfection," he says.It's not chasing a PB that has motivated Pete this year. He's recently joined a club, and says it has opened a

. But to say no would be ungrateful after all her encouragement. I watched as she explained the equipment, taking in nothing. As a life member of the baggy shorts and T-shirt brigade, I don't do heart-rate monitors. Explanations concluded and not understood

decided to make some massive changes in her life," Lee says. "She kicked cigarettes. No patches, just cold turkey. She lost three stone, and came off the pills she'd been taking for years for migraines."It was only after Rachel had made these vast

your chances of staying healthy and happy – in running and in all other aspects of your busy life. Here are 11 strategies to help you on the way.Strike a balance between...Shorter & longerIf you always tend to run the same loop of the same distance, it

, consider including some new details.Beyond reason "When you log your training, it's always worth having a motivational reminder on each page to tell you why you are putting in the effort," says Smythe. This might be anything from "marathon in September

life," says Dr Petra Boynton, a sex psychologist and lecturer in health research at University College London. "One of the main reasons for this is that healthy people – and runners obviously fall into this category – generally have better sex lives

to give up pays up. Times to do your running will suddenly, almost magically, start popping up.15 Run little and often. If you’re new to running, aim for frequency, not duration, to make running a regular part of your life. Instead of trying to find time

When you first take up running, what gets you out the door is sheer enjoyment. It's this that motivates you to complete your first race (and fans the desire to target your second and third...) and gives you the immense satisfaction of putting a

When you first take up running, what gets you out the door is sheer enjoyment. It's this that motivates you to complete your first race (and fans the desire to target your second and third...) and gives you the immense satisfaction of putting a hard

Winning gold at the British Masters Athletics Championships 2006Most of us can only dream of becoming a world-class athlete. For regular forumite Ceal (aka Cecilia Morrison) though, life as one of the global elite is a day-to-day reality