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

for me. Now I know why I am doing each run, and as an inquisitive type, this gives me more pleasure and motivation.See full thread... and build mileage effectively: slow down, tooHilly - When I first upped my mileage during marathon training I went from

Most reasonably fit people can train properly for a marathon in 16 weeks. But even if you’re one of the fittest people on Earth, you cannot train properly for a marathon if your travel schedule looks the way Lance Armstrong’s did in the four months

, 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

Setting challenging yet attainable goals is key to maintaining a long-term running career. After all, you’re more likely to stay motivated when you have something to work towards and can measure your progress at regular intervals. But picking

motivation that the thought of lining up for a race underprepared. You might be raring to get out on the track for the summer athletics season, looking for a new-year PB, or focusing on an autumn marathon. Either way, now's the time to get planning

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

but it keeps me motivated," he says. "As long as I’m improving, I’m happy." Constant improvement is the aim, and Agyei has a pragmatic approach. "If I stop improving at shorter distances I might start running half-marathons," he laughs. His PE teacher would

UPDATE: We had an amazing response to our Inspired To Run competition, launched in the summer by RW along with Reebok and two of our sister magazines.Among the stories you sent us were tales of first-time marathons, extraordinary race day