with runner A are far greater than they are with runner B. This is because runner A has longer loping, bouncing strides. These lead to an aggressive heel strike and considerable impact forces when the foot lands, which could cause injury. Runner B has

miles a week, including at least some fast striding or fartlek.The difficult bit is knowing how long it will take to adjust to the faster tempo of mile running. In the four-week programme below, I have introduced two fast sessions in the first week

Rest 2.5M warm-up, then 6 x 600m or 2 mins, with 400m or 2-3 min jog recoveries, then 2.5M cool-down 6M easy, inc 8 - 10 x 100m strides 3-4M fast but controlled Rest 6-8M easy, inc hills 6-7M easyWeek 2 Rest 2-2.5M warm-up, then 5 x 800m or 3 mins

pace, warm-downThu 6-8 miles, steady paceFri RestSat 4 miles easy, with some fast stridesSun Warm up, 5-6 mile race, plus 4-5 miles steadyTOTAL: 45 miles approxWeek FourMon 6 miles easy, off-roadTue 6 x (800 + 400) at 5K pace with 90 secs

As last week, but increase to 8 x 1 min fastDay 3 15 mins easy, 10 mins THR, then 10 mins steadySat 20 mins easy, plus 6 x 100m stridesSun Race, 5/6 miles – not too seriouslyTOTAL: 30 miles approxWeek ThreeDay 1 30 mins easyDay 2 As week 1, but 5 x

, plus 6 x 150m stridesFri RestSat 6 miles steady, or 20 mins jog if racing Sun Race, 5-6 miles OR run 8 miles steadyTOTAL: 35-38 miles Week ThreeMon 5 miles easy, off-roadTue 6-7 miles fartlek, with bursts of 30-60 secondsWed 6-7 miles steady

Speed repetitions Warm up, then run eight x 400m at mile race pace with two-minute jog recoveries between. 5 Sprints Warm up, then run eight x 200m at 800m race pace with 200m slow jog recoveries between.6 Strides Warm up, then run 10-12 x 100m

to over-stride. It encourages short, quick strides and a mdfoot strike. Hitting a cadence of 180 steps per minute (spm) means you run lighter, with more efficient form that helps to prevent injury.Good form:Aim for 180spmCount your footfalls for 60 seconds

and with a full stride? Is it easy to push and steer one-handed while you’re running at speed? Don’t be seduced by products with words such as ‘sport’ or ‘swift’ in the name, and don’t assume all three-wheelers are suitable for running – most aren’t built

many eccentric contractions. This is the same phenomenon that forces many runners to walk backwards down stairs in the several days following a downhill event.You don't think of it this way, but when you run, you are basically falling. With each stride