Many people forget that running fitness is its own specialist area - after all, the sport is often seen to represent the epitome of 'getting in shape'.

However, running fitness has its own specific prescriptions and techniques - while lacing up your shoes and heading out the door will certainly get you started, if you want to improve, maybe even to race, then you have to learn far more about running fitness.

How you train will depend upon your current level of conditioning, how long you've been doing the sport, previous injuries, and of course the distance you want to cover.

Types of workouts include long distance, intervals, hill training, race pace, threshold training, and Fartlek.

To get an idea of how to put all of this together in a meaningful program, the best place to start is with one of the many excellent books on the market - they cover all levels, including:

The "Runner's World" Complete Book of Running: Everything You Need to Know to Run for Fun, Fitness and Competition
Running for Fitness
Running and Walking for Women Over 40: The Road to Sanity and Vanity
Marathon Running: From Beginning to Elite
Running with the Whole Body: A 30-day Program to Running Faster with Less Effort

With that much choice, there's sure to be one for you!