from a fellow runner, especially one who's been through their own disenchanted moments and lived to run another day, are worth their weight in finishers' medals.But with hundreds of threads offering yet another variation on the theme of 'Help I've lost

, have a good run and may you all achieve what you hope to.Practical tips...RhysEvans: Had an email from Great Run about the colour and number allocations. "It's the colour that determines your start area. Colours are allocated based on the estimated

on the back)? Why don't runners who feel the need to do this just run a training session faster...? I've never heard of an elite athlete saying that this type of weight training has contributed to their success. It's almost exclusively men that do it, so

This week, one RW member discovers the trouble with tootsies..."I recently changed my running shoes for a much roomier pair. However, two of my toes (next to the big toe on each foot) get numb each time I run, and the nails are getting blacker

for someone who's only been running for a year, and I wouldn't advise pushing it any higher at the moment. An injury and an enforced break from running at the moment might just tip you back into a spiral of dysfunctional eating and despair, and nobody wants

You're in pretty good shape and do plenty of strength work at the gym, but you get puffed out climbing the stairs. Will running help you ramp up your stamina? What the best way to go about it?"Can anyone give me some tips for building stamina? I'm a

with you, and don't push it too hard.– Mike Saunders(Note from Jane: asthma is no bar to running, if Paula Radcliffe is anything to go by! Click here to find out what she told us about controlling her asthma back in September)Encourage him, but don't overdo

beforehand. Then two weeks ago I bought an underwired sports bra from M&S – quite expensive but it has done the trick for me and haven't had a stitch since. – Sal the slowA handy tipAre you holding a drink in one hand for the whole run? I sometimes get a

in April, but I think the key is to be flexible. The marathon will always be there. It's not selfish to want your own time, but it is selfish if it is at the expense of Mrs Z, so you need to compromise. One tip I heard: if you run in the evenings, get

if necessary. People who run through minor injuries are taking a calculated risk, and every now and then they are going to be caught out and turn a niggle into a longer term condition. – popsiderScores of injury-avoidance tipsI don't think that running slower