Hitting your stride is not always easy, but here’s some good news: there’s a hidden saviour in your kit bag – your MP3 player. The most effective training tracks have strong rhythms and a tempo that matches exercise intensity. Our latest playlist

by building more muscle fibres and boosting its aerobic engine. Push yourself to your limits twice or three times a week but ease off between hard sessions. Go back to basicsLike a golfer's swing or a runner's stride, a cyclist's pedal stroke, bike

When you first take up running, what gets you out the door is sheer enjoyment. It's this that motivates you to complete your first race (and fans the desire to target your second and third...) and gives you the immense satisfaction of putting a

Radcliffe (£14.99, Simon & Schuster)

of a race: getting through a difficult mile, passing runners comfortably, finishing smooth and strong.Time savings: 10-20 seconds Change Your ShoesIt may be obvious advice, but it is worth repeating. Buy a pair of racing flats or performance trainers

runners, bringing an iPod along for a jog is sacrilege. Running, they say, is about tuning in to your body; about living the moment; about not drowning out a trot through the woods with that 12,471st helping of Aretha Franklin's Respect. Fair enough

problems faced by runners.If you're a Runner's World UK magazine subscriber, you can see all 10 right here. Otherwise, enjoy these five as a preview - and if you want to subscribe, you can save 30% right here.Scenario 1The alarm sounds for your early

victory in the 1993 World Marathon Cup remains a recent highlight of British men’s marathon running, and his 2:08:36 at the 1997 London Marathon was the last time a Brit broke 2:09.But it’s undoubtedly in his role as co-founder of the Great Ethiopian Run

it feels to be fit and hear my children say, ‘My mum runs marathons!’ My friends are amazed,” says Linda Simons, of Hastings. 21. Do strides once a week “I’d do 100 yards on grass on the football pitch – anywhere from 16 to 72 of them. After three to five

for Stuart Barr, 39, and Nicholas Davis, 32, who both live in Cumbria – a part of the world not exactly renown for its mild winters. They often run 10-13 miles together at about 4am, a particularly bleak time to run when the northern climate is blowing wind