to become a routine reflex action – like brushing your teeth – that you don't question. If you train hard for six or 12 weeks and then go on holiday and do no training, you'll lose all the benefits. If you're finding it too hard, you're on the wrong

're competitive non-elites like Tarnopolsky or world-class performers like Dita, Master runners who perform well past 35 share one trait – they've turned their experience into an advantage. They have learned to recognise the types of training their bodies respond

clung to it as a lifeline. But at some point, after about a year of running, something changed. He’d become obsessive about his training and his racing: if he missed a morning run, he’d fret about it for the rest of the day. And races were worse: if a

first marathon and it didn't disappoint.  Awesome!!!  Huge fields, great organisation, scenery, huge crowds, wonderful atmosphere; I felt like an Olympian.  My wife, who has had to put up with the long runs, bad moods and injuries, was crying

their goals over time as a runner, you need to make sure there's a group, at least at the start, that's on the same wavelength as you," says Fraser Smart from Kirkintilloch Olympians (kirkintillocholympians.co.uk). All clubs will claim to be 'friendly

. Make sure you train at race pace If you want to be able to run faster, you need to teach your body and brain what that feels like before the race, Dugas says. Whether you're training for a 5K or 26.2-miler, running mile repeats at that pace helps

or an energy bar. Also, the sports drink on course might seem too sweet but don't feel like you have to drink it all in one go. Practise running with a bottle so your consumption is slow and controlled. Q. What's the last point in the marathon at which you

. 17 Recruit a regular training partner and agree on time, place and distance. If someone is expecting you to show up, you’re more likely to – and less likely to claw around for excuses not to. 18 Evolution, not revolution. The prospect of getting up

I am not a fish. I'm not even a hippo or an elephant. They all swim instinctively. I don't. There is nothing I find natural about moving through water. That's not to say I can't swim. Like most people, I've been swimming since childhood. For periods