steady runs and marathon pace runs for more experienced runners. Spend 10-25 per cent of your training time here. High Intensity 80-95% of maxThe lower end (80-85 per cent) of this zone encompasses tempo (or lactate threshold) runs - a 'comfortably hard

weekly runs, you should focus on increasing the amount you can run at one time until you build to at least the race distance, or the equivalent amount of time spent running."I encourage runners, particularly beginners, to focus on time and effort, rather

full mile the first time out the door, so don’t even try. You’ll get discouraged and quit. Instead, mix running and walking. Run for 30 seconds, walk for 90 seconds, and repeat this nine more times for a total of 20 minutes. When you can comfortably run

GETTY IMAGESFern Oliner had been a runner for more than 25 years when she experienced a breakthrough in her performance during a half-marathon."For the very first time, I felt like a true runner,' she recalls. "There I was, running uphill, passing

that would have most helped my initiation into running would be to have understood my body and the messages it sent to my brain. All too often I ignored little niggles in order to complete an extra mile in training. If I had spent a little less time running

, running takes time to break into. "Every able-bodied person can be a runner," says Gordon Bakoulis, a running coach and author of Cross-Training (£12.99, Simon and Schuster). "Just start slowly and build up gradually." Most coaches agree that the best

new friends. But, in actual fact, most of the people were already like old friends. The odd part was that some of these ‘old friends’ were people I’d never met before. Yet time after time, as I described the metamorphosis that running had produced

the big-time thanks to popular trail series. There’s plenty of opportunity to pit yourself against vertiginous mountain trails, but if you fancy easing into the world of trail running gently, don’t fear - many modern trail courses also loop through

minute to find out the beginner’s basics. You’ll go faster, further and happier, we promise.Starting at the ground, possibly the only thing you really need in order to run is a pair of decent running shoes. They vary as much as prescription spectacles do

Day 1Day 7RestTotal Time: 2 hours 10 minsWeek ThreeDay 140 mins fartlek (speedplay - fast and slow running at random in a normal run)Day 2RestDay 3Jog or walk/jog 20 minsDay 4RestDay 5Repeat Day 1Day 6Repeat Day 3Day 7RestTotal Time: 2 hoursWeek Four