Participants across the sport of athletics will benefit in varying degrees to some form of aerobic fitness, with the importance dependent on what type of events they do. Learning how to increase aerobic fitness in a sustainable manner could be essential for taking your next step in the sport.
In this guide we will provide an introduction to improving aerobic fitness and some tips on pitfalls to avoid.
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<h2>What is aerobic fitness and how does it differ from anaerobic fitness?</h2>
In simple terms, aerobic activities are those where the body is able to get enough oxygen into the muscles, meaning people can perform them for an extended period of time.
Aerobic fitness is how well your body is able to transfer oxygen throughout the body and therefore how well (or fast) you can go before you start to use more oxygen than your body is able to deliver.
This is opposed to anaerobic activities where the body cannot get enough oxygen to the muscles to enable them to perform. When doing high-power explosive activities such as sprinting, jumping or throwing, your body is forced to use anaerobic respiration to deliver the amount of energy required to perform that activity.
Anaerobic respiration uses stored energy in your body, such as glucose, to transfer energy to your muscles but in doing so produces the by-product lactic acid. This lactic acid stops you from doing the activity indefinitely.
When you slow down or stop the oxygen your body transfers to the muscles through your breathing, it reacts with the lactic acid to create carbon dioxide and water. Much of this you will breathe out and the lactic sensation will start to fade. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6198d5dd5249d407ef4d00cb.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
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<h2>What events require good aerobic fitness?</h2>
All events can benefit from an increase in aerobic fitness for the simple reason that an improved aerobic system allows you to recover from high-intensity activities quicker. This is because your body is better able to transfer oxygen to your muscles to react with the lactic acid.
That said, there are some events where you use your aerobic system much more. A 2003 study by Rob Duffield and Brian Dawson estimated that an athlete in a 100m race uses their aerobic system for between 20 and 25% of their energy needs. This compares with a 3000m race where athletes receive 86-94% of their energy from the aerobic system [<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=6debf2af-bd4d-4323-939f-8bbb69d10161.pdf&amp;urlslug=energy-system-contribution-in-track-running" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ref</a>].
Generally speaking, the longer and slower you go, the more likely you are to be using the aerobic system as opposed to the anaerobic system.
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<h2>How to improve your aerobic fitness</h2>
Improving aerobic fitness is all about training your body to become more efficient in transporting oxygen with improving the function of your heart a key component.
A common way of doing this is to do low-intensity activities. These are activities where your heart rate doesn&rsquo;t exceed approximately 70% of its maximum.
One way of doing this is running at a pace that could be described as easy. How quick that is will depend on the individual but it is important to ensure that it feels comfortable. This will prove a very important part of all endurance runners&rsquo; training, and running at this speed may constitute up to 80% of their weekly distance. 
<a href="https://www.asics.com/gb/en-gb/mk/asics-world-ekiden" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6195029fbb3bbc7313bde908.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /></a>
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<h2>Alternatives to running</h2>
That said, increasing the amount of running you do does come with potential dangers. Your body will take time to adjust to the increases in distance, with big increases in volume often leading to joint and muscle injuries.
For this reason, many coaches recommend that the weekly distance you run does not increase more than 10% week on week.
But it is important to realise <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/be-active/performance/cross-training-runners-cycling-swimming-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">there are other ways of increasing your aerobic fitness</a> besides just running, with many of these less impactful on your legs, knees, and feet.
Many athletes choose to incorporate low-intensity swimming and cycling into their routine as a low-impact alternative.
Other options include using an elliptical machine in the gym, sometimes referred to as a cross trainer, or even walking. All can serve their purpose and will be appropriate for different people at different stages of their fitness journey. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6198d5c65249d407ef4d00c8.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
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<h2>Dangers to avoid</h2>
Choosing low-impact alternatives does not mean you can exercise limitlessly and it is important that a focus on recovery is maintained.
This means ensuring you maintain a healthy diet and your body gets the sleep it needs. Listening to your body will be the most important step for the simple reason that it is hard to build fitness when you are injured. When muscles start to hurt, rest and seek the advice of a medical professional.
When you need to rest and recover, give your body what it requires. Doing so will be key to a sustainable and happy future in the sport. 
George Mallett for World Athletics Be Active

Athletes from all areas of the sport would benefit from some form of aerobic fitness

How to build aerobic fitness

What is the key to running well and enjoying it as you age?
I imagine this intriguing question is asked and answered often by senior runners all over the world. As we leave our youth and the physical abilities that accompany it behind, how do you keep running in a healthy and enjoyable way?
These days there are so many runners who are in their forties and beyond. Every one of them, of course, is an individual, and what works for them may be different to the next person. Being not far off 50 now, and eight years into retirement from life as an elite athlete, I often ask myself these questions. If anyone has any good answers, I&rsquo;m all ears!
The recent London Marathon on 3 October incorporated the inaugural Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships. This race brought together the world&rsquo;s best marathon runners over the age of 40. The winners of the various categories were deservedly lauded for becoming world champions, and the sheer energy and enthusiasm of all these senior runners was quite something.
After the race, I was fortunate and humbled to meet Koichi Kitabatake (87) from Japan. A relative newcomer to the marathon, having taken it up at age 78, he was a picture of good health. The sight at these championships of fit, healthy and energetic role models left me feeling incredibly inspired.
From coaching senior runners and from my own, admittedly limited experience of ageing, I offer up a few tips which might answer the questions I posed above.
<h3>1 Less is more</h3>
As we age, recovery takes longer and we may be more prone to injuries as our bodies get older. To maintain the cycle of super-compensation, in which training stimulates the adaptation that makes you fitter and faster, less training and more rest is often necessary.
<h3>2 Set new goals</h3>
Looking forwards and creating fresh, exciting challenges is helpful for finding motivation. They need not be outcome goals &ndash; process goals are a practical and useful tool for organising a sustainable training routine.
<h3>3 Leave your young self behind</h3>
Comparing your times and achievements to your younger self risks leaving you feeling disappointed. I spent several years unable to accept the inevitable passage of time &ndash; and none of that was helpful!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>4 Seek out variety and enjoyment</h3>
Making running something you look forward to, a sociable activity with your friends, and overall a positive experience will certainly help with motivation. Trying races you&rsquo;ve never run before, running on a different surface, or in a new place, are all ways to refresh your routine and keep it interesting.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>5 Just keep moving</h3>
During difficult times when you can&rsquo;t or don&rsquo;t want to run, simply doing some physical activity is key. Once you become inactive, it&rsquo;s much more difficult to restart. Walking, or a mixture of running and walking, cycling, hiking, swimming&hellip; any activity will keep your fitness going.
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<h2>Gordon's story</h2>
One of the winners from the Age Group World Championships was Yuko Gordon (70). Born in Japan, she represented Hong Kong in the historic 1984 inaugural Olympic women&rsquo;s marathon in Los Angeles and now lives in the UK. I caught up with her to hear her nuggets of wisdom about running as you age. &nbsp;&nbsp;
A talented youngster at school, Gordon took up running again seriously &ndash; almost by accident &ndash; at age 28 in 1979 while working for Cathay Pacific as a member of cabin crew. &ldquo;I was lured into running a company race in exchange for an extra weekend off &ndash; something that was a rarity for cabin crew,&rdquo; she explains.
&ldquo;I loved running on the beautiful trails in Hong Kong, and I discovered that running was relaxed and enjoyable &ndash; quite a contrast from the pressure of my school days. Four summers later I was racing at the LA Olympics.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61868fbe3b31c41318776d76.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />Yuko Gordon (&copy; Chloe Emmerson)
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She stopped running completely in 1998, becoming immersed in raising her family, and supporting her two children with their sporting activities. In 2012 she returned to running, initially sporadically, but more regularly from 2014 when her beloved dog died.
Gordon &ndash; who is a member of the Fairlands Valley Spartans club in Hertfordshire, UK &ndash; admits to being very competitive, and when she resumed running at age 61, she says she still had the same mind and mental strength, but an older body. In other words, her drive and enthusiasm to run fast was not matched by her physical abilities, and this led to injuries. She agrees that less is more, and now always does her speed work on flat surfaces because her cardiovascular capacity can&rsquo;t match her leg strength if she runs on hills.
Another tip she offers is about being the best you can be, now. &ldquo;I am always thinking about how to improve myself, and I read many books about running,&rdquo; Gordon explains.
She also experiments with training, and uses trial and error to discover what works for her. For London, she decided to run about 40 miles per week. &ldquo;I had tried running 70, because I&rsquo;d heard that was what one of my rivals did, but I couldn&rsquo;t do it,&rdquo; she explains. &ldquo;It was dangerous for me.&rdquo; She has also ruled out running twice a day, because it takes up too much family time.
Gordon has clearly mastered what all runners need to do: looking around at what others are doing and then adapting that to suit your own abilities.&nbsp;
What about pressure of competition? &ldquo;Pressure is all up to you,&rdquo; she says philosophically. &ldquo;I wanted to break records when I turned 70, but if I couldn&rsquo;t do it, that&rsquo;s it. Records come when you&rsquo;re not really trying to break them.&rdquo;
She says that running now is a bonus, because when she stopped running, she thought she would never run again. She doesn&rsquo;t think about what she&rsquo;ll do when she&rsquo;s 75 or 80; she just focuses on the here and now. She loves the club system in the UK and the age group categories which give her something to chase and aim for. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/618690003b31c41318776d79.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />Yuko Gordon (&copy; Chloe Emmerson)
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Much like her training, Gordon&rsquo;s approach to her diet and nutrition is varied and diverse. &ldquo;I cannot live without Japanese food, but our family diet nowadays is a wide mixture of cuisines, including western and oriental dishes,&rdquo; says Gordon, who left Japan at the age of 23. &ldquo;I love Indian curry, Mexican and Thai food.&rdquo; She prefers savoury foods to sweet, but doesn&rsquo;t have any special rules on diet, apart from no drinking alcohol in the week before a race. She notices that eating too many dairy products and drinking alcohol makes her put on weight, so she keeps on eye on that.
Gordon is from the generation of iconic female marathon pioneers who were racing during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Joan Benoit Samuelson and Joyce Smith. But despite her 2:38:32 PB and having competed at the Olympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games, Gordon has never viewed herself as an elite competitor &ndash; which, fortuitously, has likely helped in her transition to becoming a club runner.
&ldquo;I became an Olympian by accident; I have never been elite,&rdquo; she says.
In the near future, Gordon aims to take up trail walking with her friends, something that will undoubtedly complement her running, keep her active, and bring new challenges. And if Gordon has one piece of advice for older runners, it&rsquo;s to be led by what brings you joy.
&ldquo;If you like running, just go for it. You like it, so do it,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;None of us knows how long we will have good health for, and that is a lot to do with luck.&rdquo;
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active

What is the key to running well and enjoying it as you age?

Running for life – five tips to stay motivated at an older age

For years, altitude training has formed an important part of the training of many endurance athletes who cite it as a core part of their season. Here we break down the basic theory behind it, the difficulties athletes must overcome and the main spots to do it.
Though different definitions exist of what constitutes altitude training, we will, for the sake of clarity, consider altitudes in the region of 1500m to 3000m above sea level. 
<h2>The theory behind altitude training</h2>
In simple terms, the oxygen inhaled from the air people breathe affects the energy their muscles receive to perform physical activities. Oxygen is carried around the body within red blood cells and helps the molecules in muscles perform their functions.
The higher the altitude, the lower the atmospheric pressure, which makes it harder for the body to transfer the oxygen into the blood. This is why people can often feel lethargic at altitude. &nbsp;
In response to this situation, the brain triggers the increased production of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), encouraging the body to make more red blood cells to better transport the oxygen available. This means, over time, the body begins to transport the limited oxygen better than when it first arrived at altitude.
When an athlete then returns to sea level this increased level of red blood cells, coupled with the higher atmospheric pressure, means the body is better able to transport oxygen than it was before and an athlete&rsquo;s aerobic capacity is increased.
The body will, over time, return to normal levels of red blood cell production if the process is not repeated and the time taken for this to happen will vary from one athlete to the next. 
<h2>How long do people train at altitude for?</h2>
It takes time for the body to adapt to higher altitude and many of the effects do not occur until after a prolonged period of time. Various studies suggest there is no increase in red blood cell count within the first seven to 10 days, meaning usually athletes choose to spend a minimum of three to four weeks at altitude.
Some athletes choose to be based at high altitude throughout the year (e.g. Boulder in Colorado, Iten in Kenya and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia), coming down to sea level for shorter periods around a racing season. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/617d1d45b43879f0af6dfb3b.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> Athletes train in Flagstaff, Arizona (&copy; Getty Images) 
<h2>The difficulties of living at altitude</h2>
Early on in any stay at altitude individuals will likely find themselves to be lethargic as their body responds to the lower atmospheric pressure. Other side effects can include headaches and difficulty sleeping but these will often wear off as the body slowly adjusts to its new environment.
In extreme cases and at the highest altitudes (usually in excess of 3000m), severe failures to adjust can result in acute mountain sickness (AMS) with a range of possible harmful effects.
Athletes will also find it difficult to replicate the pace they are able to run at sea level because of their body&rsquo;s reduced ability to transport the available oxygen.
Many will therefore choose to head to lower altitude to perform much of their more intense training. This approach is generally referred to as &ldquo;live high, train low&rdquo; but it is an approach only possible where different altitudes exist in close proximity. 
<h2>Where do people train at altitude?</h2>
There are a number of locations where athletes choose to train across the world but some locations are particularly popular. These include Iten (c. 2400m) in the Rift Valley, home to many famous athletes including Mary Keitany and Lornah Kiplagat. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/617d1dd9b43879f0af6dfb3e.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> Mary Keitany during a training session in Iten, Kenya&nbsp;(&copy; Getty Images) 
Over the border in Ethiopia, established camps exist in Sululta (c. 2700m) and in the capital Addis Ababa (c. 2355m), with products including Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie.
Europe plays host to a number of Alpine and Pyrenees resorts, including Font Romeu (c. 1850m) in France, and St Moritz (c. 1856m) in Switzerland.
The USA has a number of high altitude hubs, with Boulder (c. 1624m) in Colorado a huge centre of North American running as well as Flagstaff (c. 2106m) in Arizona and&nbsp;Albuquerque&nbsp;(c. 1619m) in New Mexico.&nbsp;
Other locations include Mexico City (c. 2240m), Potchefstroom (c. 1378m) in South Africa, Falls Creek (c. 1600m) in Australia and Ifrane (c. 1660m) in Morocco. All locations come with their various pros and cons so it is important to research properly prior to any trip to altitude. 
<h2>Are there alternatives to training at altitude?</h2>
Some athletes choose to replicate the experience of living in these locations through an altitude tent. These tents reduce the amount of oxygen within them and can be lived and slept in without the need to move location. Some see this as a less expensive and more pragmatic alternative to long trips away from home.
George Mallett for World Athletics Be Active

For years, altitude training has formed an important part of the training of many endurance athletes who cite it as a core part of their season.

The basics, benefits and limits of altitude training

The cross country season is underway again. In parks and open spaces across the world, athletes will take on mud, grass, gravel, hills, rain, wind, ice, tree roots, streams &hellip; you name it, cross country has everything the elements and terrain can throw at you.
At elite level, the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-tour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics Cross Country Tour</a> is in full swing and its next stop, tomorrow, is in Amorebieta-Etxano in northern Spain near Bilbao. But cross country races at all levels will be taking place every weekend now until March. From junior and club level athletes to recreational and masters athletes, cross country is loved by runners of all abilities.
But what makes it so special? And why do runners of all ages keep coming back for more, despite the mud and cold?
The answer to this, for me, is simple: cross country is pure racing in its simplest form &ndash; A to B, whoever gets there first.
As small children, we all love the thrill of spontaneously launching into a little race while we&rsquo;re out and about. There is something very unique and exhilarating about racing against someone else and trying to reach a certain point first. It doesn&rsquo;t matter how far it is, nor how long it takes. The aim is to get there first. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6173d908a46b5b03a8ecbfe9.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Cross country is the only discipline in athletics which is just sheer racing. All the others have time, a set distance or elevation as central features of the challenge. But none of these matters in cross country; it&rsquo;s just racing, pure and simple.
Another feature of cross country which I love is its connection with nature. Running through fields and green spaces, or up and down hills is what we humans evolved doing &ndash; running in our natural environment. We didn&rsquo;t start off running in stadiums or on tarmac roads. Cross country allows us to fully appreciate exercising out in the fresh air and immersed in beautiful countryside. When I&rsquo;ve raced cross country, I feel connected with nature more than I ever could on a track or on the road.
If you&rsquo;ve never tried cross country before, you may be wondering where to start. Your local club is the obvious place, but if that feels a little overwhelming, here are a few tips to make a start.
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<h2>Footwear</h2>
Slipping and sliding around are an integral part of cross country, so you need shoes which will minimise this. Cross country spikes, which are more cushioned than track spikes, are ideal. Trail shoes or any footwear which has good grip underneath are alternatives. Trying to run on a muddy, slippery course in trainers is rarely fun.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6173db04e84ca64f37d09063.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
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<h2>Training surface</h2>
The terrain used in cross country can vary enormously from mud baths to occasional sections of road, and everything in between. Simply running on all these types of surfaces, in any amounts, will help you get used to them. So when you go out running, just try running on different surfaces for at least a few minutes on each, to see how they feel.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6173d91ba46b5b03a8ecbfec.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
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<h2>Variable effort</h2>
In cross country, you rarely run with the same level of effort for any prolonged period of time, as you might in a road race. Coping with the surface and ups and downs means your cardiovascular effort will vary and hit peaks and troughs. So practice this in your training by using fartlek sessions, timed intervals, or <a href="https://worldathletics.org/be-active/performance/hill-running-training-variety-speed-sessions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hill training</a>. Learning to manage your effort, and using short periods of slightly slower running to recover after a faster burst, are skills all runners should learn.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6173d937a46b5b03a8ecbfef.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
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<h2>Strength training</h2>
Running over difficult terrain, round sharp corners, and up and down hills calls for more robust soft tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments etc) than predictable running on roads or a track. Therefore, <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/be-active/performance/strength-and-conditioning-for-beginning-runners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strength training</a>, drills and any kind of conditioning (such as my <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/be-active/performance/14-running-drills-for-training-on-sand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drills on sand</a>) are always helpful.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/5ff982593066e61bf52a516b.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
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My first foray into competitive running was in cross country, and it has served as the foundation for the future illustrious careers of numerous athletics icons who have excelled on all surfaces. If you haven&rsquo;t tried it yet, now is your chance &ndash; I&rsquo;m sure you will love it!
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active

Running in its simplest form

Cross country for beginners

<img style="width: 180px; height: 180px; border-radius: 50%; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg?cachebuster=78d287ae-4976-419b-9e13-17747dba68a5" align="right" />The end-of-year marathon season is nearly upon us. Call me biased but I do love the marathon!
This year it is more packed than ever, with several iconic races, including the London, Paris and Boston marathons, having been rescheduled from earlier in the year due to the pandemic. But along with being a unique and exhilarating challenge, the marathon also brings with it the risk of injuries.
I imagine there are a few runners out there preparing for one of the forthcoming marathons who are nursing injuries. This week I&rsquo;m looking at muscle injuries &ndash; very common but thankfully often easier to resolve than other types of injuries.
If you stop and think about how muscles, directed by our brains, make our skeletons move, it is truly incredible. A large number of muscles, all with different jobs, contracting and relaxing in a finely coordinated sequence to make us run, swim, dance, eat, or perform any other movement &ndash; how does it all happen?!
Our muscles serve us well all our lives, but sometimes things do go wrong, and looking after them is well worth it.
Stiffness and soreness are perhaps the most common muscle problems for endurance runners. Working muscles to excess, or in an unusual way, will often make them complain afterwards. Running on hilly terrain if you&rsquo;re used to flat surfaces, or training on a track in spikes for the first time in a while, may well cause soreness. If you&rsquo;ve ever seen someone walking backwards down a set of stairs, chances are they ran a marathon the day before and their quads are very cross about it!
Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS for short, is a classic symptom of hard training or racing which typically appears two days, rather than one day, after a big exertion. Muscle tears of varying degrees of seriousness can happen when muscles are loaded beyond their limits.
<h3>So what can you do to prevent and resolve muscle injuries?</h3>
My top tip, as with all injuries, is good, thorough self-care. A comprehensive warm-up and cool-down are essential for all training sessions.
Massage, foam rolling and compression are all useful activities which encourage muscles to function well and recover rapidly.
Applying creams or gels to the skin which have, for example, anti-inflammatory properties, can help too. Thankfully, muscles have a good blood supply relative to some other soft tissues such as tendons, so the repair process can happen more quickly.
Hot and cold contrast bathing will encourage circulation to an injured muscle and further accelerate recovery. Icing, too, immediately after an acute muscle injury, will help to relieve inflammation.
As with all injuries, common sense is very helpful with resolving them, but if necessary, always seek professional medical help with diagnosis and treatment.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/be-active/performance/injury-prevention-runners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As I explained in my article on managing injuries, prevention is always the best approach</a>, and for me that means strength training. Strong, robust and fully functioning muscles will be better able to cope with the running demands you expect of them. As we age, this becomes ever more important.
If you are preparing for an upcoming marathon and haven&rsquo;t yet tried any strength training, perhaps set yourself a goal, for after the marathon, of giving it a try. <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/be-active/performance/strength-and-conditioning-for-beginning-runners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">My strength and conditioning for beginners article</a> gives some tips on where to start.
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics

Muscle injuries are very common but often easier to resolve than other types of injuries

How to prevent and manage muscle injuries

If you&rsquo;re new to running, you may be wondering whether or not you should do any training other than running &ndash; what is commonly known as &lsquo;cross training&rsquo;.
Is it worth doing at all? If so, how much? What are its benefits? Should it be instead of, or in addition to running?
There are many questions to answer about cross training. But to be honest, there aren&rsquo;t any hard-and-fast answers which apply to all runners. Every runner is an individual, and what suits one runner may be different from the next. It is worth experimenting to find out what suits you.
Perhaps the best use of cross training is during periods of injury, when you cannot run at all or less than you&rsquo;d like to. Alternative forms of training during these times can help to maintain your fitness, and are a great way to enjoy the benefits of physical exercise such as being out in the fresh air.
But cross training also has considerable benefits even when you can run, and can complement your running training in various positive ways. Activities such as cycling and swimming have less impact so are more forgiving on your soft tissues than running. Aqua running and cycling on a stationary bike are great for intense anaerobic workouts.
While I was competing as an elite athlete in the marathon, I used cross training often &ndash; for recovery, during injury lay-offs, and to add variety to my training.
Where do you start with cross training? Here are my top tips to help you decide what, when and how much.
&nbsp;
<h2>1 Similarity to running</h2>
If your main sport is running and you are cross training to improve your running, then choosing an activity which has some similarity with running is a good place to start. This may be in the physical action you perform (eg aqua running) or because an activity can provide an endurance workout (eg road cycling). No form of cross training will exactly replicate running, but some are more similar than others. I would always choose swimming or cycling over, for example, horse riding.
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<h2>2 Do no harm</h2>
This may seem obvious, but taking steps to avoid injury applies as much as when you are running. A good warm-up and cool-down are essential, as is starting off gradually with any completely new activity until you get used to it.
&nbsp;
<h2>3 Replicate flexibly</h2>
Trying to &lsquo;copy&rsquo; a particular running session as a cross training session can be a useful rule of thumb. For example, a 30-minute easy run can simply be replicated with a 30-minute easy swim. However, try to avoid copying rigidly and be flexible. For example, when doing an intervals session on a stationary bike, I could never raise my heart rate to the same level as when running. Therefore, I aimed for 10 beats below what I would have done running; this provided roughly the same level of training intensity. Similarly, water supports your body weight unlike running, so effort in a pool will always need to be higher to reach the same heart rate as when running.
&nbsp;
<h2>4 Mix it up</h2>
If you love running in nature and enjoy seeing beautiful countryside while you run, then cross training might seem a little boring. I certainly found it mentally tough doing long sessions on a stationary bike or elliptical trainer compared to running. So use variety as much as you can.
For example, when my training schedule called for a long steady effort, I would add in sets of mini intervals with just a little extra effort to break up the session. By exerting yourself only a little more than normal, it will still be a steady effort, but the variety of the efforts will make it more interesting.
&nbsp;
<h2>5 Return to running cautiously</h2>
Cross training can maintain cardiovascular fitness very effectively, but remember that soft tissues such as muscles, ligaments and tendons may take a little longer to adjust when you return to running. It is easy to run too fast or too much when you return to running after injury because your cardiovascular fitness is not limiting. To avoid another injury, return to running gradually, while monitoring carefully how your body reacts to greater running loads.
&nbsp;
I hope I&rsquo;ve convinced you that cross training can be a terrific accompaniment to running training. It provides variety and relatively stress-free ways to improve your fitness. If you haven&rsquo;t yet, do give it a try.
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active

Is it worth doing at all? If so, how much? What are its benefits? 

Getting to grips with cross training

Feeling a little empty and sad now the Tokyo Olympics are over? Missing that rollercoaster of excitement which is watching elite athletes perform on the biggest stage of all? Well, fear not, because the World Athletics U20 Championships get underway in just four days&rsquo; time in Nairobi, Kenya.
After a brief post-Olympics rest, we can all climb back on the rollercoaster, fasten our seatbelts and watch the world&rsquo;s best youngsters battle it out for the top spot.
While watching the Tokyo Olympics, I often thought of the old proverb &lsquo;From little acorns, mighty oaks grow&rsquo;. We witnessed a changing of the guard and the arrival of a new generation of young stars. Teenagers Athing Mu, Keely Hodgkinson, and Erriyon Knighton performed with maturity and excellence way beyond their years. We were left wondering how they could be so&hellip; well, simply so FAST, at such a young age. They are still small acorns in terms of their age, but already mighty oaks in terms of their performances.
Developing children into strong athletes and confident adults is all about inspiration and experience. Giving children inspiration, for example through visible role models who they can relate to, and positive experiences of training and competition, is the foundation of creating a lifelong love of sport and being active.
Programmes like Australia&rsquo;s Little Athletics illustrate how this really works in practice. Tokyo medallists Nicola McDermott and Ash Moloney are just two Olympic legends who enjoyed Little Athletics as children.
But what is the best way to nurture and develop children into becoming good athletes? How do you balance hard training while ensuring their efforts are sustainable? Of course it varies from one child to the next. But a few common themes crop up again and again.
&nbsp;
<h2>1. Enjoyment</h2>
Children love playing, and if a sport is fun, they will enjoy it more. Making activities exciting, fun and interesting will keep children engaged and wanting to do more.
&nbsp;
<h2>2. Variety</h2>
Children need to develop a full range of physical skills such as balance, agility, speed and coordination. This calls for a wide variety of activities without specialisation too early. The hard training that all world-class athletes must do as adults calls for bodies which are robust and well-rounded.
During my teenage years, I loved hockey, netball, swimming, tennis and other sports &ndash; this laid the foundation for being able to handle training for the marathon at elite level when I was much older.
&nbsp;
<h2>3. Participation</h2>
Just having a go is the way we all start a new activity, regardless of our age or ability. Giving a sport or athletics event a try, even if it doesn&rsquo;t go well, is the first step.
It was fascinating to see athletes such as Shericka Jackson in Tokyo who had switched events &ndash; just having a go at something new pays dividends at all levels.
&nbsp;
When the action begins at Nairobi&rsquo;s Kasanari stadium on Wednesday, prepare yourself to witness some incredible performances from the world&rsquo;s best teenagers. And if you have children in your family or neighbourhood who could grow into mighty oaks, make sure they watch these championships!
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active

From little acorns, mighty oaks grow

Three ways to help youngsters get off to a great start in athletics

The action has arrived! The long-awaited Tokyo Olympics is under way, and in just five days&rsquo; time the athletics will start with a bang at Tokyo&rsquo;s National Stadium. Call me biased, but I think the sport that showcases the fundamental essence of human physical endeavour &ndash; running, jumping, throwing and walking &ndash; is the best of them all. I can&rsquo;t wait! The fact that these Olympic Games are going ahead at all during a global pandemic is testament to the incredible hard work of the hosts, Japan.
Among those who will no doubt be watching the track and field competition will be the huge number of people to have taken up running for the first time during the pandemic. Despite the terrible global cost of Covid-19, one overwhelmingly positive consequence of it has been the boom in new runners. If you are one of them, you might be tempted to try running on an athletics track for the first time. Or maybe you have children who, inspired by the sight of formidable Olympians giving it their all, start dreaming of future glory on an athletics track. 
Whatever the reason, now is the ideal time to just have a go at your local track. But where to start? What are the rules? Can you just turn up at a track and run? Here are my tips for complete beginners who want to dip their toe in and give it a try. 
<h3>Safety first</h3>
Running on a track is generally safe, but always check any track safety rules on arrival and be aware of others using the track at the same time. Athletes running at high speed or practising throwing events are just two examples of other track users to keep a close eye out for.
Always run anti-clockwise. Running clockwise is occasionally allowed but if you&rsquo;re going to do it, always run in the outer lanes and give priority to anyone running anti-clockwise. Be careful of tripping on the rail which runs along the inside of lane one. Avoid walking across the infield if any throwers are present. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60fd3d2a9e71dedf0ffa173e.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="612" /> (Photo:&nbsp;with thanks to St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK) 
<h3>Shoes</h3>
You certainly don&rsquo;t need to wear spikes or other specialist shoes. Any running trainers will do for a first run on a track. You can progress later to using lightweight shoes or spikes if you want to &ndash; they might make your legs, especially your calves, stiff the first time you wear them, so they can take a little time to get used to. 
<h3>Etiquette</h3>
Like in any sport, athletics has its rules about being considerate to others. If you&rsquo;re running slowly, consider using the outer lanes and leave lane one for the speedsters. Generally, faster runners should pass slower runners by overtaking, not undertaking. If you&rsquo;re unsure, check and agree with others present which you will do. 
Avoid stopping abruptly on the track; if you&rsquo;ve finished a section of running, always step on to the inside of the track or move out into the outer lanes. Lane one is for running only &ndash; never for chatting, looking at your phone, checking your bag, etc. &nbsp; 
<h3>Training</h3>
If it&rsquo;s the very first time you&rsquo;ve run on a track, try starting by simply jogging a few laps in the outside lanes. See what the surface feels like, get used to running in lanes, and familiarise yourself with how running on a track differs from the road or a park. If you want to push yourself a bit, try increasing your speed on the straights and taking it easy on the bends, for as many laps as you like. From there you can progress later to trying an intervals session. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60fd3da29e71dedf0ffa1741.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="713" /> David Bedford, former 10,000m world record-holder, and Hayley Yelling, two-time European cross country champion (Photo: with thanks to St Mary's University, Twickenham, UK) 
<h3>Embrace the culture</h3>
On many tracks, you&rsquo;ll be running in the footsteps of past legends. Keep an eye out for a plaque or ask around &ndash; you might find that a member of athletics royalty prepared for an Olympic Games at your local track. I first learned to love track running at Oxford&rsquo;s Iffley Road stadium &ndash; the thought of the late Sir Roger Bannister racing a mile in 3:59:4 certainly provided inspiration! When I lived in Tokyo, I often trained at the National Stadium &ndash; the venue where the USA&rsquo;s Mike Powell set the still-standing men&rsquo;s long jump world record (8.95m) in 1991.
There&rsquo;s no better time than the next two weeks to give track running a try. After your run, you can sit back and enjoy watching the world&rsquo;s best athletes battle it out for gold, silver and bronze. No matter which athletes enjoy the life-changing moment of stepping on to the medal podium in Tokyo, we all know that they too were once beginners.&nbsp;
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active

Now is the ideal time to have a go at your local track. But where to start?

Track for beginners

Olympic fever is building as the Tokyo Olympics open in just six days&rsquo; time. Are you feeling inspired to improve your fitness? Maybe thinking about taking up a new sport? Or dreaming about giving your best in your next competition?
The Olympic athletes we&rsquo;ll soon see on our TV screens can seem like super-humans from a different universe. But to be honest, and as a former elite athlete myself, I promise this is not the case. The world&rsquo;s best athletes all started at the bottom and worked their way up. They suffer setbacks and disappointments like the rest of us. They certainly work very hard, but there is a lot we all have in common.
One of those athletes is Eleonora Anna Giorgi of Italy, one of the world&rsquo;s top race walkers. Training at her base in Milan, she is currently finalising her preparations for what will be her third Olympic Games, where she will compete in the women&rsquo;s 20km race walk in Sapporo on Friday 6 August. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/ac52e891-eebd-4891-b8bb-be3fe86ad607.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="771" />
 Giorgi is the Italian record-holder in the 20km and holds the European record in the 50km. But perhaps her best achievement to date was the bronze medal she won in the 50km in the sweltering heat and humidity of Doha at the 2019 World Championships.
Five of the six women&rsquo;s race walking medals on offer in Doha were won by the formidable Chinese team; Giorgi was the only athlete who managed to prevent a double Chinese sweep of the podiums.
I caught up with her ahead of her flight to Japan, to hear how her preparations are going, and to glean a few tips from her for beginners and recreational athletes.
We started with training, and how elite athletes&rsquo; sessions can be adapted for recreational athletes. &ldquo;Every kind of training can be adapted &ndash; the pros just go faster,&rdquo; says Giorgi. &ldquo;Race walking is great for beginner runners, because there is less impact on your joints.
&ldquo;I recommend trying one minute fast walking, like you are trying to catch a bus, then one minute of slow running, and repeat&rdquo;, she explains. &ldquo;If you do a minimum of thirty minutes in total, you will see results, but you can do this for longer &ndash; as long as you like.&rdquo;
I asked about technique for anyone who has not learned the proper race walking technique. &ldquo;Just keep your arms down and use your hips,&rdquo; she explains. Giorgi says fast walking is better than running for anyone trying to lose weight because it is easier on the knees. &ldquo;I often try to convince my Dad to do some fast walking,&rdquo; she laughs. Alternating one minute of walking and running is just one example, but she says you can vary this as you like, for example three minutes running, one minute walking. &ldquo;Variation makes time fly and makes training fun.&rdquo;
Fast walking is booming in Italy. Fit walking, a form of speed walking started by race walking legends, brothers Maurizio and Giorgio Damilano, is very popular, along with Nordic walking with poles. Giorgi says many people now enter marathons to walk, rather than run them, and the sport is attracting many younger people too.
Although race walking is now her speciality, Giorgi started out as a runner, mainly in the 800m and cross country. But injuries made her switch to race walking. She still uses running in her training, especially in winter.
One of her track sessions involves alternating 100m of very fast walking (under 4:00 per km) with 100m of slow jogging. Intuitively, many might think that in a run-walk training menu, the running is the hard bit. But in Giorgi&rsquo;s session, the walking is the tough part and the jog is the recovery.
When we spoke, Giorgi had just completed a 15km session of 1km race walking, alternating with 1km slower walking &ndash; another session which could be adapted for recreational athletes. 
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<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ6qhMNrM1K/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Eleonora Anna Giorgi (@eleagiorgi)</a>
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 Being a devotee of Italian food, I had to ask Giorgi for her top tips on nutrition for beginners. Perhaps predictably, she replied: &ldquo;I am Italian, so of course I love pizza and pasta!&rdquo; She went on to explain that she believes you can eat whatever you want if you train hard, and your own health should be the top priority. But she also aims to achieve a balance of macro-nutrients, with the three thirds of any meal comprised of carbohydrate, protein and vegetables, all washed down with plenty of water, especially in summer. Giorgi says she pays attention to her nutrition but does not follow any diet. &ldquo;I train hard so I can eat a pizza.&rdquo;
My next question for Giorgi was what are her tips for people who might want to try race walking for the first time? &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be shy&rdquo; was her top tip. &ldquo;Just try fit walking or Nordic walking to start. If others see you out in a park, they will be curious and follow your example,&rdquo; she explains. And don&rsquo;t go alone &ndash; it is always easier with the support of friends.
Perhaps her most practical tip is this: &ldquo;Take your bag to work, then go straight to training afterwards without going home first. If you go home, you&rsquo;ll sit on the sofa!&rdquo;
She also emphasises the positive aspects of walking. &ldquo;You can walk anywhere &ndash; in the city, mountains, countryside, anywhere. And I sometimes sing when I train &ndash; just a few notes but it gives me energy.&rdquo;
After hearing Giorgi&rsquo;s top tips, we talked about her immediate goal &ndash; the Tokyo Olympics. Of course, she wants a good result and will do her best, she explained, but she will also be happy simply to be there, since competing at the Olympics is an athlete&rsquo;s dream. &ldquo;I hope to enjoy the journey, and live some magic moments,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;It will be a beautiful experience.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/afbcad9d-2945-4344-b3df-6779f14227a1.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" />
 Giorgi&rsquo;s last appearance at a major championship was over 50km in Doha. But the 50km has now been discontinued; next year&rsquo;s World Championships in Oregon will feature race walk events of 20km and 35km for men and women.
&ldquo;I am a little sad about the 50km, but on the other hand, race walking has to change to survive and attract more young people,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I understand the decision.&rdquo;
Giorgi is excited about the new 35km event and believes it will become very competitive. But she confesses she wanted a new race walk event over the marathon distance, 42.195km, partly so that runners could really appreciate how fast race walkers are. &ldquo;Runners sometimes get mad at me when I overtake them in the park,&rdquo; she laughs.
Giorgi&rsquo;s memories of her 50km in Doha illustrate well how elite athletes are just normal people. &ldquo;I was struggling with stomach ache from 15km, so I just focused on completing the next one kilometre, and then the next. I thought I would not be able to finish.&rdquo; But the finish eventually came for Giorgi, along with her bronze medal. &ldquo;I had been trying to win a medal for six to seven years but failed because of injuries and disqualifications, so to win a medal was very good.&rdquo;
Giorgi, like all elite athletes, is just a normal person working very hard at their craft. And perhaps Italy&rsquo;s victory at the Euro 2020 football tournament will inspire Giorgi when she puts on the azzurri blue uniform of Italy on Friday 6 August in Sapporo. Forza Giorgi!
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active

Feeling inspired to improve your fitness? Thinking about taking up a new sport?

Eleonora Giorgi’s top tips for runners and walkers

<img style="width: 200px; height: 200px; border-radius: 50%; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg?cachebuster=36d9895b-365f-4c7a-b5f8-6f082ae4b35f" alt="Mara Yamauchi" align="right" />While competing as an elite athlete, one of the major injuries I succumbed to was a high hamstring tendinopathy &ndash; an injury of the hamstring tendons where they attach to your pelvis. Generally considered an over-use injury, the tendons can become damaged in a number of ways, such as partially detaching from the bone, or their fibres degenerating. Whatever the cause, this injury shows up as pain at the top of the back of your leg where it meets your bottom. Sitting down for any length of time, driving, and running fast or uphill can be very painful. This injury is, literally and metaphorically, a pain in the behind!
Working on my glute muscles was the key to fixing this injury. Glutes are large muscles which perform several important jobs, including stabilising your hip joint and extending your leg backwards as you run. However, sitting down tends to switch off our glutes. If they aren&rsquo;t functioning or activating well, other muscles, such as the hamstrings and lower back muscles, will step in and do their work. This can make the situation worse as your glutes just come along for the ride, and other muscles become over-loaded, leading to tightness and possibly injury.
Among the athletes I coach, I see signs of glute dysfunction often. This, along with my own history of inactive glutes and hamstring injuries, has made me put glutes at the very top of my priority list for conditioning work. Keeping your glutes in good working order will certainly benefit your hamstrings, but also be helpful more widely with preventing injuries. &nbsp;&nbsp;
So where to start with glute conditioning? Top distance runner Eilish McColgan shares a glute strengthening circuit <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-r7Za_pUny/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, with some great exercises such as hip thrusts, crab walks and diagonal kicks.
Apart from these, there is a huge range of exercises you can do to target your glutes, including squats, lunges and glute bridges, as explained in my article on preventing injuries, <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/be-active/performance/injury-prevention-runners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. On top of these, here are my favourite glute exercises.
<h3>One-leg stand with hip rotation</h3>
Stand on one leg and tense the glutes of that leg, placing your hand on them to help with activation, if necessary. Keeping them tensed, bend your other knee and move it out to the side slowly and back again. Try to keep your standing leg glutes activated the whole time.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60baa5f6a66d27977a4936bd.gif" alt="" width="300" height="388" />
This is an example of a type of exercise which is very good for glute activations: stand on one leg, and keep that leg&rsquo;s glutes activated. Then create instability by moving your other leg or arms, which your standing leg glutes have to work against. Another example is &lsquo;diagonal band pulls&rsquo; using a resistance band. &nbsp;&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60baa6bfa66d27977a4936c0.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="1164" />
<h3>Airplanes</h3>
Similar to the clam while lying down, this exercise really makes your glutes burn! Stand on one leg, bend that knee, and lean forward until your torso is almost parallel to the ground. Then raise your other leg slowly by opening your hips in a clam movement. Stay low to the ground with your knee bent. Perform enough repetitions to reach nine out of 10 of fatigue.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60baa3fddb5a79921ff3cd2f.gif" alt="" width="300" height="388" />
<h3>Step-ups with resistance</h3>
Step-ups are a simple but effective glute exercise. By using weights you can increase the load. A squat bar is ideal but if you don&rsquo;t have one, hand-held weights are a good alternative. Push down into the ground with your heel as you start the movement, finishing with your hips forward and an upright posture. You can make step-ups more dynamic by really driving down with your heel to perform a little jump at the top of each step-up.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60ba935b8730cb89510236cd.gif" alt="" width="300" height="388" />
If you are not sure if you are using your glutes correctly, always place your hand on them to feel if they are contracting or not. Good brain concentration may be needed to fire up your glutes, so performing exercises in a quiet location without interruptions is always helpful.
Finally, if you are using your glutes properly having not been doing so for some time, they should feel stiff and tired afterwards. This is a normal reaction to using muscles and should disappear within 2-3 days. &nbsp;
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active

Mara Yamauchi shares her favourite glute exercises.

Top exercises for glute conditioning

<img style="width: 200px; height: 200px; border-radius: 50%; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg?cachebuster=36d9895b-365f-4c7a-b5f8-6f082ae4b35f" alt="Mara Yamauchi" align="right" />Feeling anxious before a major competition is normal. Our fight-or-flight response has helped us humans to survive all these years. Nowadays, it helps us to be ready for a major physical challenge by increasing glucose in our blood and making us feel alert.
But pre-competition nerves can become excessive to the point of having a detrimental effect on your performance. Thankfully, though, there are plenty of strategies which we can use to dampen down the effects of anxiety before competition.
During the many years I competed as an elite athlete, I found myself feeling anxious before major competitions all the time. Through experimenting and practice, I honed a pre-race routine which helped me to feel calm, yet focused completely on delivering my all in the forthcoming race. But everyone is different, and what works for one person will differ from the next. What matters is what works for you, so it&rsquo;s worth spending time testing out various ways of dealing with nerves. When you arrive at a strategy that works, write it down and stick with it!
My tips for managing nerves are as follows:
&nbsp;
<h2>1. Plan ahead on practicalities</h2>
Logistical mishaps on, for example, transport and your kit are things which, if they go wrong, generate high anxiety. Eliminating this as a potential source of nerves is an easy win, by being fully on top of all these things in advance. During the current pandemic, complying with Covid-safety measures makes being organised about logistics even more important.
&nbsp;
<h2>2. Just do your best</h2>
Worries about how you will perform compared to your rivals or others&rsquo; expectations can be debilitating. But ultimately, all you can do is your best, on any given day, whatever level that is. If you give it 100% no matter what, you can walk away knowing you could not have done better, regardless of the result. Focusing on this is a good strategy for banishing anxieties about comparisons. Spending a few moments visualising yourself delivering a good performance can also help. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60a8c606e92d04d6f9e3c2f2.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="380" />
&nbsp;
<h2>3. Less is more</h2>
Immediately before an event, rest is vital. So resist the temptation to squeeze in more training, hoping that a final training session will help on competition day. Training takes time to have an effect and last-minute exertion is more likely to tire you out than make you perform better. If you are well-rested, you are more likely to perform well.
&nbsp;
<h2>4. Have a goal</h2>
Plans do not always work out, but simply having a goal gives you something to focus on if you feel anxious before an event. Goals can be adjusted during an event &ndash; they need not be set in stone.
&nbsp;
<h2>5. Transport yourself away</h2>
Finding an absorbing activity like reading a gripping novel or watching an exciting film will stop you from over-thinking the event or worrying excessively. Activities like this can be mentally refreshing and bring you to the start line feeling excited and ready to produce a massive physical effort. 
The fight-or-flight response means we have peaks and troughs in our states of preparedness for any major challenge. To be on your top form when necessary, you must allow time and space for the troughs, i.e. for resting and decompressing. So along with learning how to manage nerves before competition, always make time for a good rest afterwards to recharge.
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active 
<a href="https://raceroster.com/events/2021/46978/asics-blue-jean-mile" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60a8243be52e28addc6386b7.png" alt="" width="950" height="249" /></a>

Feeling anxious before a major competition is normal. 

Five tips to help you deal with pre-competition nerves

<img style="width: 360px; height: 240px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/medium/6091846136595b9d02bc36f4.jpg" align="right" />Before he became one of the world&rsquo;s leading sprinters, Trinidad and Tobago's Jereem Richards worked as a personal trainer.
He then hit the big time in 2017, earning 200m bronze and 4x400m gold at the World Athletics Championships in London.
Here the sub-20-second sprinter identifies several key drills and a couple of fun games to help develop speed in both youngsters and adults.
&nbsp;
<h2>A trio of drills</h2>
In many ways, the human body is just like a car. The engine needs to be running for a while in order to be able to reach top speed. And three drills I know which help the body move quicker and mimic that feeling of touching the ground at pace are the high knee drill, the lower knee drill and the ankling drill. All three drills should be carried out twice each in an area 10 to 20 metres long.
<img style="width: 300px; height: 300px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/609183db36595b9d02bc36ee.png" align="right" />For the high knee drill, stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lift the left knee to your chest, then switch to lift the right knee to the chest. Continue the movement, alternating legs and moving to a sprinting pace.
The low knee drill is similar to the above except the knees should be lifted no higher than the lower trunk.
The ankling drill helps facilitate the proper loading and spring during running. Starting at the toe, push the foot down so that the heel barely touches the ground. Initially start by learning the movement, then gradually pick up the pace and keep the cadence high.
These drills prepare you for running fast and act as an excellent warm up for sprinting. 
<h2>Hopscotch</h2>
<img style="width: 300px; height: 300px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60918707126cda8866d26c15.jpg" align="right" />Speed can be developed through co-ordination. The better co-ordinated you are, the easier it is going to be for you to run in the most efficient way: in a straight line.
I remember simple exercises I used to do at primary school &ndash; such as jumping on one foot, foot hops and even games like hopscotch &ndash; were great for coordination. As we get older, we think this is irrelevant because they are kids&rsquo; games, but sometimes the body needs to re-learn these skills.
Hopscotch develops balance and stabilisation, foot and leg strength. Many of us have imbalances in the body and we might develop a stronger more dominant side. In order to sprint as quickly as possible, we need to get the body as close to perfect balance on both the left and right side. 
<h2>Hand clap game</h2>
Agility is sometimes an overlooked element to be able to sprinting quickly. Yet to run quickly, you have to be able to react quickly, and I remember as a youngster playing a fun game to aid reaction times and develop agility.
One person would touch the inner palms of their hands together while another person would place one hand each about six inches from either side of the palms. The person on the outside would then try to strike the hands of the person whose palms were together before they could move them away. This is a fun agility game to help the muscles fire.

The sub-20-second sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago identifies several key drills and a couple of fun games to help develop speed in both youngsters and adults.