stroke – is it technically correct and comfortable, and are you able to change your pace? If you address these areas during winter and then continue them into open water in the spring and early summer, you will reap the benefits as you start to race

out if you stay in the same lane throughout. Are you allowed to tumble-turn? Will you receive a two-lengths-to-go warning from the marshals? If the swim is in open-water, find out if it's in the sea, a river or lake, the shape of the course, and if you

We’re always trying to encourage our colleagues over on sister magazine Runner’s World to take up triathlon. So when senior designer Graham Taylor expressed a desire to tackle his first triathlon recently, we encouraged him to face his open water

There are two camps in the trail running world. The first believe that a waterproof trail shoe is as much use as a wire-wool thong. What you need, they say, is a shoe with wide open mesh that lets water in quickly, and then lets it out just

and chip-timing should plush you to a PB, plus our members raved about last year's goody bags. Afterwards, explore Bushy Park's charming woodland and water gardens at a more leisurely pace. Enter now.Robin Hood 10K (Nottinghamshire, November 6)Feel like

to water-based activities than true trail running since the open upper could let in debris. Contact: www.hellyhansen.comNew Balance 783, £55They say: This shoe offers great cushioning and superb support on both the road and trail. The water-resistant uppers

A spell away from the water's edge, Bewl 15Closing SoonHurry, you won't be able to enter these races for much longer...Bewl 15 (Surrey, July 1) An off-road circuit round south-east England’s largest stretch of open water, with a few tough hills

and ironically - in a town where the car is king - unable to get out of first gear. They used aerial views of Milton Keynes to depict an archetypal American city in Superman II, but for the first 10 minutes, it felt more like the opening sequence of the film

. Enter online.Cheshire Classic Aquathlon (Nantwich, November 13)Distance: 750m swim/ 7.5K run If you don't fancy a chilly open-water dip in late autumn, practise your racing skills in the comfort of a heated indoor pool. Set off in waves based on your

and scattering droplets of holy water, a mile or so further on a more evangelical, louder group hurling ladlefuls of holy water across the runners, who at that point included a couple as Adam and Eve.  Church bells were ringing, and at one point a steeple