they wish they’d known before taking their first running steps. The lessons they’ve learned will apply to you too and put your mind at rest.If you're a Runner's World UK magazine subscriber, you can see all 20 here. Otherwise, enjoy these 5 as a preview

and necessary motor units so they're ready to jump into action at the start, meaning you'll be less likely to go into the red 30 seconds in. For very hard efforts, a cool-down can help prevent blood from pooling in your legs and causing dizziness, but there

and have been shown to reduce running performance over 10K by as much as 2 minutes. It is also worth noting that cases of exertional heat illness, such as heatstroke, are not isolated to the summer months. The best way to assess your fluid loss

. Dedicate 35 minutes to carbs. Add 15 minutes of protein and healthy fats. The remaining 10 minutes? Have fruit for dessert.BAD GUY: SALTThe good news: It's always wise to keep your salt intake below 6g a day. Yet during long runs "prolonged sweating can

't prevent injuries or improve performance, so there's no reason to do it. The time to do your stretching is after your run, or even later in the evening." Stretch (without straining) your calves, quads and hamstrings for a total of 10 to 15 minutes. Expect a

the equivalent of eight large glasses of water every day, and probably twice that in warm weather. It also means taking in about half a pint of fluid every 15-20 minutes of running. For runs of an hour or more, you also need to replenish spent energy stores

in the shadow of a 10,000-year-old glacier. You’ve just imagined the 2001 Antarctica Marathon, aka ‘the Last Marathon’.To me, it seemed like the perfect idea – the Penguin running with the penguins. But just reaching the Last Marathon was a marathon in itself: a

, 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 way

Standfirst: 10 first-time running goals – and how to achieve themAuthor: Issue date: aug98Keywords: --> 1. How to... Buy your first running shoeWith more than 150 different specialist running shoes to choose from, finding the right model can

adult life. And if I thought about stopping, my partner and daughter would kick me out of the door and tell me to get on with it.Nick Troop Years Running 20+ Finishing a marathon is easier than you thinkWhen I started running in the 1980s, the marathon