Clubs are the lifeblood of running. They offer guidance and encouragement to newcomers and improvers alike. They organise races and provide the officials and marshals that are essential to so many events. But perhaps most importantly they also

received. It paid off when Kirste defied all expectations to run the London Marathon every year since 2006.She ran last year’s race four months after the doctors found a second tumour in her lung, saying with characteristic spirit: “Cancer has picked

from grim experience. He punctured twice in the qualifying bike race for the Beijing Olympics last year and didn't make the team. "I was really low afterwards and didn't feel like training but I did have a Plan B, which really helped me out," he says

an easy-to-run event that allowed anyone to come and race whenever it suited them. "Make it simple, make it free," was his aim. He didn't half pull it off. The thriving parkrun series is a true running phenomenon. What began five years ago as a small

session can't make that much difference...Wrong. Snuggling under the duvet may sound attractive, but you'll hate yourself later in the year. There's simply no getting around this harsh fact: if you want to slash your race times next summer you have

easily attained, it’s hard to stay motivated. Set your goals too high, though, and you’ll fail to achieve them, which will also dampen your motivation. The best way to preserve your enthusiasm is to set and regularly reset specific time, distance and race

against a stag night when he got married. Instead he flew to Singapore and ran his worst ever marathon. An award-winning writer who started his journalist career 20 years ago, he has raced trains, run along the Mekong River and completed a 240-mile

days to log more miles or train for a race, so you’re more fit than you’ve been all year. But this otherwise ideal season is fleeting, and without the right focus, you could lose all you’ve gained as winter rolls around. So make the most of your summer

competitive vehicle,” says Runner’s World Editor Steven Seaton.2. Put your pain in perspective “When I start to feel desperate in a race, I remind myself that if I survived giving birth, I can do anything. That reminder got me all the way through last year’s

and energy into putting on free races, and an amputee who forced us to rethink our definition of disability. Remind yourself of their inspirational stories. Last year's winners (from top left, clockwise): Rosie Swale-Pope, Joss Naylor, Charlotte Purdue