that is 75-100m from bottom to top and run up at an intensity slightly harder than 5K race pace. Start with seven or eight intervals, each followed by an easy jog back to the bottom of the hill.Don’t just hammer out the miles on roads or pavements

with lactic acid build-up when running faster. I do pyramid sets of intervals on an undulating running route of about seven miles. After a 10-minute warm up, do a one-minute interval at race pace or 70-80 per cent of your maximum pace, recover for 60

  WEEK ONE WEEK TWO WEEK THREE WEEK FOUR Mon REST DAY REST DAY REST DAY REST DAY Tue RUN 1M easy, 3-4M hard, 1M easy; or speed session (eg 5-6 x 800m with 200m jog recoveries) RUN 1M easy, 3-4M

, consider the pace you ran for your last 10-mile race or half-marathon. This pace is likely to be just below your lactate threshold, or roughly 80 to 85 per cent of your maximum heart rate, says Nick Anderson, the British cross-country coach. An even simpler