The Fear: Getting InjuredThe Fix: Train Smarter What is a runner's number one fear? No, it's not being pursued by the giant octopus on the previous pages, but injury, according to two-thirds of RW poll respondents. Start winning your battle

Journal and the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, stretching was found to have no statistically significant effect on reducing muscle soreness or injuries. A 2008 study of 1,020 soldiers – where half stretched and half didn't – found no difference

more than that. A review of 50 studies on tapering published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise shows that levels of muscle glycogen, enzymes, antioxidants and hormones - all depleted by high mileage - return to optimal ranges during

by an injury. So when the going gets tough, it's time to train intelligently. Walking the tightrope. That's how elite runners describe their 120-mile weeks, when they put their bodies on the line day after day. Of course, you're probably not up on a tightrope

and faster runs. This may mean shifting between 10- and eight-minute miling, or between eight-minute/mile pace and weekly speed sessions. It’s the contrast that’s important. Running fast all the time can lead to injuries; always going slow can lead

You've heard the usual recommendations for so long that you accept them as gospel. And most of the advice is solid. Who can argue with putting in mileage, peaking for races and stretching after a run? But just because many coaches, sports

is pretty much inevitable and can actually be beneficial, according to sports psychologist Dr Joann Dahlkoetter, author of Your Performing Edge (£11.90, Stackpole Books): "Fear is a sign that you're excited and ready to roll, and can be channelled to work