More is less or less is more?

[Stolly]

if you play your cards right, by the time racing season starts you can get by just doing races i find

Not something I'm at all interested in doing!

[barnyc]

whether you 'race' said races is another matter entirely... helps to have fixed items in the calendar though.

easy to put off a run till another day otherwise

[Hes]

I just like to run and, whether I race or not, I still run as much as possible.

I know two people that are excellent fellrunners but have very different approaches to running. One runs daily and is getting stronger and faster and the other has to limit his training to 3 or 4 times a week because he finds he gets too run down and is prone to injury or illness (he has a physical job so maybe that accounts for the difference too). Personally, I'm in between, I find that I need and like a rest day now and again but I tend to get out about 5 times a week with maybe a race every other week. I vary my distances and routes and aim to get a long run (20 - 30 miles) in every 2 or 3 weeks. I'm vegetarian and I expect I'd have more strength and stamina if I paid more attention to my diet too.

Re speed, I'm 41 and am improving every year at the moment but, whilst I've always enjoyed running, I have only run seriously for 5 years so maybe I just haven't reached my peak yet!

whether you 'race' said races is another matter entirely... helps to have fixed items in the calendar though.

easy to put off a run till another day otherwise