Take a quick guess at running’s number one enemy. What do you think it is? Injury? Ill health? Manic drivers? Blistered toes? No, the nemesis of the modern runner is excuses. They stop more people running than anything else. In a perfect world there would be no episodes of the We...

Q Following your advice, I did a treadmill test using a heart rate monitor to work out my maximum heart rate. The result was 177bpm. However, during 40-minute steady runs my pulse easily reaches 165bpm, about 94 per cent of max! Am I training too hard? (It doesn’t feel like it.)...

GETTY IMAGESMonitoring your heart rate during training sessions has two main uses: observation and control. Observation is the more straightforward of the two, and you can do it whether your heart rate monitor (HRM) is an entry-level unit, displaying just your pulse, or the Rolls...

be runners who speed past you in a race; as long as you finish within the allotted time, it doesn't matter how fast you run (or walk) the course.I feel stuck in my comfort zone. How will I ever get faster?Once a week, run intervals. First warm up, then pick

have heart-rate zones you can set to keep your run at the right level, and at the top of the scale, your HRM can act as a virtual coach. We tested eight models from across the spectrum.Dunlop Velocity, £60 Features 3 target HR zones, interval timer

. The instructions were clear and the functions (stopwatch, two interval timers, heart-rate zone) were easy to use. During your run, you can change to view beats per minute, the percentage of your maximum heart-rate, or calories burned. Although the time display

money? Basic Models "Basic HRMs let you set limits and control heart rate intensity for individual training sessions, record exercise duration, calculate calories burnt and record the time spent in and above your set heart-rate zone

' details on to Wiggle, so they should be in touch shortly.Adidas Adizero Adios 2 Kirsty Sparks (Sittingbourne)Zone 3 Aquaflo tri suit Susan Ridings (Flintshire)Compressport R2 (Race and Recovery) Calf Guards Graeme McCarthy (Sheffield)Keep checking our

function maxChanged(){document.hr.hr_max.value = parseInt(document.hr.hr_max.value);zoneChanged('jog');zoneChanged('easy');zoneChanged('slow');zoneChanged('steady');zoneChanged('brisk');zoneChanged('fast10k');zoneChanged('fast5k');zone

-compatible, top-of-the-range tools.Bion BN25 £59.99 Choose from five different pre-programmed activities: walking, aerobics, hiking, jogging and running. These help the monitor set upper and lower heart rate (HR) limits and count calories burned. Four target zones