British runner Hannah England, who won silver in the 1500m at the 2011 World Championships, shares with The Telegraph her tips on how to be a stronger runner
Build up your running volume slowly
“The most important thing is to build up your training. You can’t just wake up one day in April and expect to run fast. So I will build slowly and carefully from Christmas. I start off by doing 400m drills and I don’t worry about pace for the first month. Month by month I get stricter on pace and recovery times until I am at race pace. By then you have the mental confidence to know you can hit your target pace and a smug knowledge that you have put the work in. And you know that when you come to the event, the adrenaline will make it all a bit easier as well.”
Mix up your training speeds
“I do a steady run most mornings for 30-40 minutes. It’s not junk mileage as such but just maintains general fitness...