whether Jane can make a digest of these responses that's fit for family viewing! – VelociraptorDitching the cool-down makes you faint and soreThink about it! Especially during 100m efforts, which I assume are at a fast pace, your muscles are making great

-twitch muscle fibres will not in themselves make someone a fast runner. The one thing that is consistently proven to improve fitness (and speed) is training. Generally the more you train the better you get. Less is NOT more! Don't get worked up about what your

..."I went for a 10-mile run yesterday in very cold temperatures, wearing my usual leggings and light jacket. I realised as I ran that my leg muscles were actually numb. I thought leg movement whilst running would warm them up, but I had no feeling in them

uphill, but running uphill all the time isn't really an option! I've seen two physios and a sports doctor, and all have suggested various abdominal/core strength exercises. They think it's perhaps a tight psoas or abdominal muscle, and have tried manually

was knackered after my first marathon and my knees kept protesting for months, so I'd say it depends how used to hard running your body is. You do need time for your muscles to recover, there's no point in pushing it. Also, what you eat is really important

way, pilates will help. You do need an instructor, though, to ensure you're doing it correctly. Swimming is also good for the strength of some upper-body muscles, but it emphasises some at the expense of others. Some swimmers therefore have very bad

suggests that this is worth trying in a race of little importance to see if it's effective for you. – TomIn my personal training days I'd always advise a 5-10 minute warm-up. It warms muscles, lifts body temperature and prepares the body for increased blood

, it just makes more sense to do the exercises when your muscles are fresh rather than straight after a hard run. Also once you're out on the run, you don't feel like you've got it hanging over you. It's worked for me, maybe it'll work for you. – Mudmonster

preparation will have contributed to physical changes such as strengthening his heart muscles and increasing his cardiac output, and his slow pace – an average 4:45-hour marathon pace during the Endurance 50 – will allow his body to recover as he goes along

challenges to your muscles that a treadmill can never do, and, let's face it, it's what our bodies were originally designed for. Oh and I still get out of breath running up some flights of steps; I just do it faster than I used to. – Timothy Hallaways