Running can be really fun, but whether you are running for pleasure or training for a race, you are likely to have pains and twinges along the way. In fact, statistics show that nearly 80 percent of runners develop running-related injuries each year.

As a runner, you can develop a running injury when you push yourself too hard whether you are a veteran or a beginner. As you engage in repeated movements, especially in longer distances such as the marathon, it can take a toll on your body and trigger some injuries. Repeated movements along with sudden changes in training volume and weak muscles are the perfect recipe for a nagging injury that can bother you for a long time.

There’s no doubt that a lot of effort goes into training for a marathon – it requires months of hard work, countless hours of running, strengthening and stretching just for the blissful moment when you get to cross the finish line. That’s when the reality sinks in – you can do whatever you set your mind to.
 
It’s a life changing experience but you have to be willing to pay the price, to do the hard work day in and day out. In this guide you will understand what the correct progression should be when building up to the marathon, how you should train, what you should eat, when you should start tapering before the race and how to recover and stay strong after the race...

Have you ever wondered when you should start running again after you’ve finished a race?
 
There are plenty of articles that show you how to train for a race – how many miles you should run, what pace you should be training at, what your nutrition should look like, how many gallons of water you should drink and so on… this is all important stuff! But what happens after you finish the training plan and complete the race?

Well, first you create a RunPage to show off your killer finish line photo on social media (hehe!) but after this you need to start thinking about HOW you will recover from that effort. ​

Here are a few things you should consider...

So you want to run your first 5K race? Congratulations, that’s a bold decision, participating in a race takes courage! You’ve made your choice and now you’re ready to start working towards your goal!

​This plan has all the information a new runner might need – from how to find a race to participate in to tips on how to prepare logistics for race day. Strap yourself in and take notes, we’re going to cover a lot of information in this article! (Bonus, there’s a downloadable image with a 6-week training plan at the bottom of this article!)

On the 13th of February coach Paulo went live with the Running and Race Training community to speak about speed-specific training, what it is, which techniques you can use and how you can incorporate them into your own training.

In this article you'll find the video with the complete live session and a downloadable high quality image that can serve as a guide when you're trying to create your training plan. Before we go into the actual speed work, I want to briefly explain what lactate threshold and periodisation are because they’re important terms for what we’re going to discuss.