Once you have progressed to a level where you can run for twenty minutes or so, two or three times a week, you should look to establish a regular running programme. You need to think about your overall aim in continuing to run. Is it to:

• • Continue to build on your level of fitness?
• • Increase the range and distance of your training runs?
• • Challenge yourself by running on different surfaces?
• • Compete in running races?

Whatever your overall aim, you should beware of increasing the distance and intensity of your running too quickly. In these early stages it is probably better to stick to a maximum of three running sessions a week, thus giving time for your body to recover between sessions. The route to improvement at this time is to improve the quality of your running by increasing the speed of your workout, or by running further in each session. For example, if you are running two miles in a twenty-minute session, you could aim to up your pace so that you cover two and a half miles – a 25% improvement that will probably take some time to achieve. As advised earlier, it might be more practical, initially, to split the run into four parts and run two of the sections more quickly, slowing down to recover in between. Gradually you should find that you can run the whole distance at a higher tempo, thus running further in the time available.

Alternatively, you might want to introduce some hills into your regular runs. Many novice runners are nervous about running uphill because it is harder on the body. For precisely this reason it is a good way to improve your cardio-vascular fitness because your whole system is working harder. When you return to flatter terrain, you will be surprised how much faster you are able to run.

Another way to improve is to increase the distance that run in a session. The benefit of doing this is that it will improve your stamina. The downside is that you will have to set aside more time for your session, whereas if you are doing a speed or a hill session, these can usually be accommodated in the same length of session. Another danger of simply increasing the distance that you run, is that it does not necessarily improve your speed or cardio-vascular efficiency. In addition, at this early stage you risk bringing on injury through increased pressure on your joints and muscles. To prevent injury when you increase your mileage, you definitely need a pair of cushioned trainers or running shoes.

Running on different surfaces is another way in which to bring about improvement. Just transferring to running on flat parkland increases the resistance, compared to that provided by tarmac, so you have to work harder to run the same distance in the same time. Running ‘off road’ in this way has the added benefit of being kinder to your hard-working joints, although you might need a pair of off-road shoes for such sessions.

In truth, to improve as a runner, you would be wise to attempt a mixture of all these ways. Varying your sessions between different disciplines will maintain your interest and motivation, by avoiding the repetition of routes and routines. Try not to be too impatient: improvements in fitness may be slow to materialise and you should avoid the temptation to increase speed, distance and the number of sessions per week too rapidly, or fatigue and injury will naturally follow.