.g. 1.5 litres if your fluid loss is 1 litre) to properly rehydrate. A sports drink to replace sodium and electrolytes, spread evenly across the first two to four hours of recovery, is ideal. This extra fluid accounts for the increase in urine output

Running is about self-improvement, not Spartan self-denial. As performance coach Kim Ingleby (energisedperformance.com) says, "You need a balance: training, recovery, food and fun." So while runners might idolise the original marathon runner

.To help make all this happen, here's our first-ever beginners' racing guide. Here, you'll find everything that you need to know – from tips on nutrition and warm-ups, to race-day strategies and recovery techniques. Race DayRace day can be intimidating

and drinks will come in useful. They will also help your recovery and your training on days that follow.  ➌ Make sure you are fully warmed up, and stretch after every session to help your muscles stay loose.  ➍ Hill training is another way to develop speed

. If everyone else increased their mileage by 10 per cent per week, then I’d increase mine by 20 per cent. Eventually, I learned that improvement comes when you learn to balance effort and recovery. Now I know that I need to mix lots of easy-run days around my

first school race in 1972. Somewhere in the second mile, I slowed to a crawl, and from then on I don’t remember much. Not until years later, when I met my wife - a runner and dedicated water drinker - did I smarten up about running and drinking

and running, the most useful measure is the Glycaemic Index (GI). This is a number given to carbohydrate-rich food based on how quickly it raises your blood sugar levels after you eat it. A food with a high GI, such as a sugary drink, will result in a rapid

This section is adapted from No Need For Speed - A Beginner's Guide To The Joy Of Running, by John Bingham. Buy this book!Many adult-onset athletes believe that living an active lifestyle would be easier if they could trade the body they have

ankles. Take your new R/W philosophy to the trails, however, and you can drink in those scenic overlooks during your walking breaks.More effective recovery days This one’s easy and obvious. Some days you need to run slow. Maybe you ran long or fast

programme isn't necessary. Just listen to your body, run, rest and eat and drink well. If, however, achieving a set distance or time are your main goals, then you really do need to follow some form of programme. Depending on your current level of fitness