GO UNDER 40 MINUTES

Who’s up for it? / Experienced runners who are running a 5K below, or close to, 20 mins. The schedule consists of two tough sessions a week, mixing fortnightly race-specific efforts at goal pace with tempo training to boost lactate threshold and above-race-pace intervals or hills to build strength and speed. The other sessions are easy, to aid development and recovery.

Do the splits / Most coaches recommend running even mile splits, or a slight negative split, running the first half of the race slightly slower than the second half. ‘This means you don’t want to run the first mile too fast, but this can be difficult and will require focus,’ says coach Jeff Gaudette.

No pain, no gain / Maintaining a pace that isn’t far off your 5K pace for twice as long will hurt. Concentrating on your goal will help you rise above the pain, says Andy Lane, a professor of sport psychology.

Be race ready / Don’t just jog in your warm-up, advises Alex Hutchinson, author of Which

Comes First, Cardio or Weights? ‘It takes time for your oxygen-delivery system to get up to full speed, but you can prime it by doing a hard effort before a race.’ After you’ve jogged yourself warm, run for two minutes at race pace, aiming to finish five minutes before the race starts.

Lighten up / Lighter shoes can boost speed. One study1 found that every 100g of increased shoe mass meant a one per cent increase in oxygen consumption.

Tuck in / Running fast in a headwind uses three to nine per cent more energy, so running in someone’s slipstream is a smart move. Of course, someone might do the same to you!