, rubbish adviceEven if you jog a lap of the track it will help. Your coach may be a nice chap, but he is not going to do any of his athletes any good. – sandersMaybe there's something in it?When I was an aerobics instructor, I worked with a chap who taught

." Setting clear goals about what you want to achieve from new training exercises can also help keep you on track. "You might set yourself a target time of sub-45 minutes to run a 10K, so that will be your focus, and we know overall fitness will help you

, it doesn't mean you can survive 10 x 400m on the track at a fast pace."—Jack Daniels, exercise physiologist, coach and former world-class pentathlete22. Don't always watch the watch"I don't wear a watch during my long runs. That way I'm not tempted

you love.Steve Smythe Running life: Trains every day, and occasionally twice a day. After 27 years of trying, he won an individual Kent title in 2000. Years running: 31 Running is generally a fair and honest sport. If you put the work in, train

-old I'd won the English Schools' 5,000m championships on the track, and held high hopes of representing my country. Sadly I broke my foot, and had to give up track racing. Instead, I took to the roads and discovered I had a talent for marathon running

should be done as genuine recovery runs, but I see so many club runners doing them as steady runs – it puts you on a fast track to fatigue and over-training." Slow it down – use a heart-rate monitor, train with a plodder or take in some chilled, view

much about the losses. We should be happy to simply keep on keeping on.These slow-down percentages come quite close to matching a vast amount of physiological data that has tracked the VO2 max of athletes and non-athletes as they age. No one beats

courses would be like allowing world records on short tracks. The problem is, running a net downhill course isn't necessarily so simple. Boston's course may be downhill, but it's also more challenging than any flat marathon, and it produces a uniquely

into manageable portions e.g. the next gate/lamp post/tree/parked car/whatever. Keep track of your progress – it’s worth singling out one or two key landmarks on each hill and reminding yourself (in a few weeks’ time) that you've been able to get much further

give old trainers another sporting life as basketball courts, tennis courts, running tracks and children’s playgrounds. Find your nearest drop-off point at www.nikereuseashoe.com. You can also send nearly new shoes direct to Africa to help new