While the running boom continues, I see a disproportionate bias towards marathon running and commercial trail running. The old favourites such as fell running, track and cross country (XC) seem to be a bit less glamorous and haven’t captured the popular imagination in the same way. There’s obviously a host of reasons why and I’m sure the last time many of you did XC was at school but I still see a huge benefit in the old school XC for those in marathon training.

Running on hilly, muddy courses puts strain on small stabilising muscles that it’s easy to ignore when running on road or even well-maintained trails. The air tends to be fresher (which the lungs adore) when compared with pounding the pavements of London. You’ll naturally have to vary your speed during a XC race, which is brilliant training for the heart, and the lack of stability underfoot will be fantastic at helping you develop ankle strength and balance. All in all, it may not be the most glamorous of running disciplines, but XC has its place and I think it should be a part of every runners training programme…