"I felt like I had no release, no safety valve, at any point from waking to going to bed. I wasn't a pleasant person to be around." Managing the Cancer Centre at one of London's biggest hospitals was starting to take its toll on Claire Levermore

’t think I drink excessively for a woman, but I often manage three glasses of wine an evening – and avoid other people after a run?A It certainly isn’t uncommon for runners to suffer from sore throats when they’re training, so you’re not alone. Training

."After setting himself the goal of losing weight, Steve joined a slimming club. He set realistic targets, and above all, made sure that he stuck to them."I found it easier to break up my weight loss aims into more manageable mini-targets. That way you

you stay healthy. A poor recovery strategy can lead to fatigue, chronic tiredness, muscle soreness, poor sleep and increased susceptibility to infections and injury.   Recovery in the body involves a complex process of adaptation to the physical stress

"I felt like I had no release, no safety valve, at any point from waking to going to bed. I wasn't a pleasant person to be around." Managing the Cancer Centre at one of London's biggest hospitals was starting to take its toll on Claire Levermore

, but I somehow managed to find the speed and energy needed to get me over the line in a time I hadn’t expected. When I collected my kit off the lorry, the volunteer there congratulated me and I told him it was the best experience of my life (apart from

there are probably over 10 million people suffering at the same time as you. However, it is more likely you'll suffer if there is a history of asthma or eczema in the family.Q: How can hay fever affect my running performance?A: Hay fever can weaken nasal flow by up

Keith Power is a BASES (British Association of Sport and Exercises Sciences) accredited sport psychologist and managing director of sports psychology consultants A Different Mindset (www.adifferentmindset.com).A former international athlete

weights in the gym – you can benefit from as little as 15 minutes of core stability work if you manage to do a selection of exercises regularly. Exercises you can do at home are ideal for rest days too when your body needs time to recover. Remember

-eye: "If I have a nap I find I can manage much better-quality training in the night-time." But do we normal runners need the same?Probably not, says Mark Blagrove, sleep psychologist from the University of Wales, who suggests that cytokines — hormones