‘Make sure your heel strikes the ground first, rather than the ball of your foot,’ advises Sajjad Afzal, a podiatrist to UK athletes. ‘Run smoothly and rhythmically.’ If you hit the ground with the side or the ball of your foot, it will roll. This has a domino effect on the rest of the body and can cause common running injuries such as shin splints, ‘runner’s knee’ and back pain. See a specialist to improve your running style. It could be a coach or a podiatrist, but even a member of staff in a good running shop will be able to analyse the way you run and offer tips. Move your arms more. ‘If your arms go forward, your knees will go forward – that’s how our bodies are made,’ says personal trainer John Munroe. ‘If you have a bigger range of movement with your arms, your legs will have a greater movement too. And if you move your arms really quickly, your legs will move really quickly!’ It may sound obvious but if you want to run a fast marathon or 10k race, you first have to learn how to judge your speed and maintain consistency. ‘Paula Radcliffe knows by the way her foot strikes the ground how fast she is running and will hit that mile marker at five mins 15 secs, or three to four seconds either side of that, every time,’ says Munroe. ‘Start by running three eight-minute miles in a week. The next week try to beat that. If you do this you’ll get quicker.’ Over a period of time you will learn to work out your speed. Don’t train too hard too soon. If you do you will increase your risk of injury or plain, simple fatigue. Many newcomers give up because they’ve tried to go too far, too fast and have failed. That’s no excuse to slack. Work hard and remember that you get out of running what you put in. Compete in races as part of a plan to gauge fitness, progression and race pace. Putting races in your calendar will also force you to train harder. Don’t ignore the rest of your body. Running doesn’t just require strong legs and a good pair of lungs. To hold your body in the right running posture over the distance requires strong core stability. Do a weekly session of circuit training to make sure the whole body is getting a workout. A session should include press-ups, crunches, jump squats, burpees, reverse curls, split jumps and running on the spot with high knees. Do resistance training, too. Machine exercises that will help your running include leg extensions, leg presses, hamstring curls, shoulder press and abduction work. Do three sets of between ten and 12 reps. Try Fartlek training. Developed in the 1930s, this is a less structured form of interval training, and something you can easily do while out on your runs. The idea is to run flat out, jog for a while, then sprint again. If you want something a little more structured try this programme, devised by personal coach and ex-international long jumper John Munroe. Pick two trees about 30 metres apart. Run 60 per cent of your top speed or maximum heart rate and jog back. On the second go, run at 70 per cent and jog back and then at 80 per cent and then back to 60. Do this for ten minutes. The only way to improve your running fitness is to stress the lungs and your muscles – and there’s no better way to achieve this than on an energy-sapping hill. Run up at three-quarter pace, jog down, run up at three-quarter pace, jog down… you get the idea. Do everything within your power to avoid injury. Start your sessions with a light jog or a few minutes on the treadmill. Then warm up gently. Run hard during your workout and cool down fully afterwards. Avoid injury too by practising ‘functional mobility exercises’. Examples are high knee walking, high knee cantering and lunging. These will help your ‘running muscles’. Work out your true maximum heart rate (MHR). The standard way to work out the rate is to subtract your age from 220 but if you’re serious about training, there’s a much better way. After a warm-up, run for three minutes as hard and as consistently as you can, then rest for two minutes, and then run again for three minutes at your max. Count your heart rate. This is your true MHR. Unless you’re a beginner and you’re still building up your fitness levels, run at between 75 and 87 per cent. ‘This will give you the greatest fitness benefits,’ says Munroe. Be anal – start a training log, whether it’s on a notepad or a computer. It’s a good way to boost confidence because it shows a series of quantifiable gains – or it will if you’re doing everything right. There’s nothing like peer pressure or the presence of a proper coach to bring out the best in you. There are running clubs all around the country from serious athletics clubs to those designed to help people get fit for the first time such as the Cannons and Reebok Running Club (08707 582333, www.cannons.co.uk). For a list of athletics clubs and tracks visit www.runtrackdir.com. Running becomes much easier when you have a friend to spur/nag you on. Drink even if you’re not thirsty. ‘The body has a poor thirst mechanism,’ says Adam Mead, senior dietician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London. ‘When you’re thirsty it’s already too late. If there’s even a five per cent drop in hydration levels your performance will tail off.’ Hydrate with water if your run is less than 15 miles. Use a sports drink if it’s longer. Take on fluid every 15 minutes of exercise. Don’t run on an empty stomach. ‘About 60 to 90 minutes before a run, have a sandwich, a sports drink or a glass of milk and a muffin,’ says Mead. Base your meals around carbs such as pasta, rice and potatoes. You should aim to eat about 70 per cent carbs, 15 per cent protein and 15 per cent fat. ‘During any physical activity you use a crucial fuel called glycogen, which comes from carbohydrates. You need to make sure you’re eating sufficient amounts. You need protein to build new cells and muscle,’ adds Mead. Be scientific about it. You should aim to eat five grammes of carbohydrate and one gramme of protein per kilo of bodyweight per day. This will aid recovery. Something like a banana is ideal because it has a high glycaemic index (GI) and will give an immediate boost of energy. For your main meal, eat carbohydrates with a low GI – those that release energy slowly – such as sweet potatoes and brown or Basmati rice. Forget having a hot soak after a run. It’s the worst thing you can do because it encourages the micro-tears in your muscles to bleed out, which increases soreness. Have an ice bath instead. It’s what most top athletes do because it helps flush lactic acid out of the muscles and boosts the immune system. Unless you have half a tonne of ice to hand, run the tub with cold water and jump in for about five minutes. Athletes require more minerals and vitamins than the average person thanks to the stresses of running. Each stride can cause tiny amounts of damage to the red blood cells in the feet, and running also produces damaging free radicals. Vitamins and minerals can help mop them up. This is a good idea if you’re doing ultra-long distances or if you tend to be sedentary during the week and blast at the weekend. Natural sources include almonds, hazelnuts, avocado, spinach, sweet potato and good old Hellman’s mayo. Runners can also experience iron deficiency, which makes you feel fatigued, so eat dark meats, liver, fish, apricots, eggs and kidney beans. It’s no good wearing the hottest-looking pumps if they’re going to give you shin splints, sore knees or an aching back. See a podiatrist and have a foot MOT. They will be able to tell whether you are running efficiently by looking at your trainers. Uneven wear indicates that your feet roll as they land, which causes problems. Pronating feet (flat feet) is when the foot rolls inwards. Supination (high arches) is the opposite. Only a third of us are neutral. Solve the problem by getting a custom-made orthotic inner-sole. It’s made from a plaster cast of your foot and will ensure you run with a balanced gait. For some people, a good anti-pronating shoe will correct running imbalance without the need for an orthotic insert. Patience is important when buying the right trainers. Ben Noad, manager of Runner’s Need in Holborn, London, says you should try on at least three to four pairs and run in them before purchasing. ‘Buy trainers half a size bigger [than your normal shoe size] because when your feet heat up they swell,’ Noad says. Your feet hit the ground about 2,000 times per mile and in that distance your body has to dissipate 100 tonnes of force. So think about those poor knees and stick to softer terrain whenever you can. Look out for the respected running shoe brands. Asics, Brooks, New Balance and Saucony have the best reputations among serious runners. Avoid trainers with air bubbles in the heel because they will encourage your ankles to roll. Leave the cotton T-shirt at home and start wearing polypropylene clothing that ‘wicks’ sweat away from your skin. Cotton becomes heavy when wet and, unlike ‘polypro’ fabrics, stays wet. If you always run the same route, try doing it in the opposite direction. That way any cambers and lateral stresses are transferred to the other foot. ‘Otherwise you are potentially going to shorten your inside leg,’ warns podiatrist Sajjad Afzal. Have achievable goals. Write them down and reassess them on a regular basis. Make them positive, so instead of saying, ‘I will not get overtaken in the last mile,’ say, ‘I will hold my position.’ ‘Make every run feel significant by looking at it as a small goal that forms part of the bigger goal,’ says sports psychologist Andy Barton. This does not mean attempting to run up cliff faces, cartoon style. It means you should never simply train with one specific race or set distance in mind – you should always train for the next level of training. ‘When most people do a marathon, they train for the marathon,’ says Munroe. ‘With athletes, they all train for the next level.’ A subtle but vital difference. Use visualisation techniques to improve results and combat nerves. ‘People can put on muscle by using their imagination. When you mentally rehearse something micro muscles actually move. Make sure you’re relaxed. Visualise doing well so you can tap into your feelings,’ says Barton. Use disassociation as a post-mortem tool. Want to see where you may have gone wrong? Look at yourself from outside your body and see what you were doing as if you were a coach. Imagine oil is going through your body to make your limbs feel loose, or that your legs are pistons. It might sound crazy but it works. Use music to get in the right mental state – but don’t always go for the Rocky theme tune. Classical music may be more effective at relaxing you, and you run better when you’re in a relaxed state. ‘For a marathon, think in terms of the first mile, then the second mile. The more you stay in the moment the more effective you are,’ says Barton. But on race day, make sure it’s your normal breakfast. Don’t be tempted to try a nutritionally perfect meal in case your stomach reacts badly to the change in diet. If toast and coffee is your normal fare, stick to it. Make sure you know your route and pay attention to it. You don’t want to either get lost or start bumping into people because you’re running in a totally different direction. Imagine you’re a Grand Prix car – bear with us here – and stay straight as you take corners. ‘It sounds silly but try to run that bend as straight as you can,’ says coach Munroe. Just try not to crash into any walls like that unfortunate Mr Button. Take part in as many races as possible so that you can discover your strengths and weaknesses. Run off a rival’s shoulder, about four yards behind them, because the ‘hole’ they make in the air will suck you along. You can save ten per cent more energy by doing this, especially in windy conditions.1 Watch your footing
2 Be style conscious
3 Get pumping
4 Judge your pace
5 Be progressive
6 Work it!
7 Test yourself
8 See the bigger picture
9 Lift weights
10 Shake up your training
11 Go hill running
12 Be careful out there
13 Raise those knees
14Know your heart
15 Keep a record
16 Join a club
17 Partner up
18 Stay hydrated
19 Know your fluids
20 Get snacking
21 Eat right
22 Do your sums
23 Eat as soon as you’ve run
24 Chill out in the bath
25 Take a multivitamin…
26 …and vitamin E
27 Have some iron
28 Run in the right shoes
29 Ask an expert
30 Get to know your feet
31 Take your time
32 Don’t get squeezed
33 Run on soft ground
34 Know your brands
35 Burst the bubble
36 Get wicking
37 Go for variety
38 Be realistic
39 See the big picture
40 Train vertically
41 Visualise success
42 Disassociate yourself
43 Start pumping
44 Get in tune
45 Stay in the moment
46 Eat breakfast
47 Know where you’re going
48 Cut corners
49 Put yourself about
50 Slipstream opponents
MORE EXERCISE
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