What are some at-home moves to strengthen and stabilise the knees?

Weaknesses around the hips and gluteal muscles can cause the hip to drop on footstrike, which can put strain on the knee. The following exercises improve strength, stability and proprioception (awareness of joint and limb position):

STEP-UP/STEP-DOWN Step onto a small step with one leg, then lower slowly as close to the ground as you comfortably can. Focus on keeping your hips and pelvis level, and your knee in alignment. SINGLE-LEG SQUAT Stand on one leg with the other leg extended. Lower your body, keeping hip and knee in alignment, and your pelvis level. LUNGES Stand with your feet hip-width apart; step forward, lowering your hips and making sure your front knee doesn’t go beyond your toes; return to the start point and repeat on the other side.

I’m two months into marathon training, but the race has been postponed to autumn. Should I scale back until I restart marathon training?

It’s wise to scale back your training to avoid injury and stress on your immune system. But keeping some training going will maintain your gains. In the short term, set yourself a 5K or 10K challenge – it will keep up your motivation and it’s thought that being in good 10K shape is a great place to start a marathon build-up. You can also work on your core stability and try some running-form drills before you start training in earnest again, 12-16 weeks before your marathon.