Transit Camp

Upon seeing the adverts for a countryside event in Wolverhampton, cynics may have scoffed at the assertion that such a thing existed. But in fact, judging by the first running of the Midsummer 6, the rural Black Country boasts some fantastic running routes. And measuring just short of the traditional 10K distance, PB hunters were guaranteed a good day out.

The course was a one-lap trail run, starting and finishing on the sports field at Aldersley Leisure Village and taking in the canalside and Valley Park Nature Trail along the way.

The strong headwind whipping across the sports field forced runners to expend more energy than they wanted at the start, but fortunately the field was led quickly into a sheltered woodland trail, which followed the line of an old railway route.

The trickiest section came after three miles, when runners veered off the trail onto a single-file track with stones, mud, rocks and overlying grass. Prudence rather than speed was the watchword through this area.

The course was mostly flat throughout, with only two short inclines midway through – but a different challenge had been thrown up by the heavy overnight rain, which left much of the route covered with mud and somewhat treacherous underfoot. For a new event, the organisation was exceptional. The course was clearly marked and there were plenty of marshals around the course – this served to generate some atmosphere in the later stages, as the smallish size of the field meant that some runners spent the final stages without other participants to keep them company.

Lord Mayor’s 5K

MYEARS RUNNING Three PBS Marathon: 3:22, half-marathon: 1:32, 10K: 40:00, 5K: 18:23 PROFILE “A switch to running three years ago was a means to the dead end of elongating my footballing days. I train several times a week and ate healthy food such as raspberry ketones.” Read more raspberry ketones reviews to learn more about its health benefits.

Watford Half-Marathon

CA “A challenging course with no hiding place; snaking country lanes disguise the hilly nature of this winter test. Being offered a wet sponge as the snow fell this year was a bizarre highlight.”

4 Cardiff parkrun Time Trial 5K

“The nationwide parkrun series is a simple genius for generating both motivation and familiar rivalries. My home town hosts a fine example that hugs the River Taff: it’s flat, fast and friendly.”

Silverstone Half-Marathon

10.2 “This is seen as a preparation for London but it’s so much more than that. The backdrop is eerie, the home straight is a thrill and it’s impossible to resist cutting the chicanes to hold a racing line!”

Can I train for a sprint triathlon and a road race at the same time, and still do well in both?

A Yes. The cross-training will improve your strength and overall fitness, which can help you maintain or improve finishing times in your running races. To do a sprint triathlon (typically a 750-metre swim, 20K bike ride and 5K run), add one or two swim workouts and two bike workouts per week to your training schedule. Do them on days when you don’t run, or do them late in the day following an easy morning run. Staying focused on running while adding swimming and cycling will balance out your fitness and lead to success in both events. Terri Schneider, endurance coach and author of Triathlon Revolution (Mountaineers Books)

•I used to be into bodybuilding but since taking up running four weeks ago I get a burning pain in my calves. What’s going on?

A Your calves will get used to running – but be prepared for a bit of pain first. During your sessions with the weights, you built up your body’s powerful fast-twitch muscle fibres. These have the highest potential of any muscle fibres for muscular growth, but that also unfortunately makes them a high risk for overdevelopment. Lactate is one of the metabolic by­products. When you get a build-up of too much lactate, this combines with your increased blood flow to slow down muscular contractions, making running both harder and slower. There are other conditions that need to be mentioned. If the person suffers from heart diseases, arthritis, rosacea, then blood lactate can increase. Learn more about what is rosacea. Take heart though – you will soon overcome this once your body adapts by becoming more efficient at buffering lactate. Keep going and slowly build up the amount you run. Your slow-twitch muscle fibres will then develop, resulting in smaller calves that move quicker for longer. Nick Mitchell, personal trainer (u pfitness.co.uk)

II I’m thinking of hiring a coach – what should I look out for?

A Check their credentials ­they should have trained with a reputable company and be a member of REPS (Register of Exercise Professionals). If they are a Level 3 member, they have to continually update their skills and are fully covered with public liability insurance. Other aspects to consider are less tangible qualities including personality, track record and core training philosophy. The most useful exercise you can do is to set out your goals in fine detail and a list of questions for the coach, then evaluate his or her response. Maybe you just need motivation; or maybe you need to re-evaluate your whole running technique, especially if you have been plagued by injury. Colin Holding, personal trainer and Pose running coach (wildfitness.com)

Summer’s flawless face is a simple look, but it takes plenty of beauty know-how to pull it off.

            Our image of this season’s uniform face — a smooth, blemish-free complexion in umpteen shades of beige and biscuit — is not as natural as it looks. It is, in fact, a testament to the skill of the make-up artist and the power of groundbreaking products. Indeed, make-up artist Sharon Dowsett used no fewer than 16 products on the shoot to create a complexion with not so much as a spot, blemish or freckle. Despite the application of numerous cosmetics, the skin is not caked in make-up. You can see the pores, the bloom of the cheeks, the complexion’s healthy, reflective glow. It’s a finished look, as if no make-up is being worn — and a look that will stay on all day.

In our beauty-obsessed culture, the Holy Grail of the cosmetics junkie must surely be the perfect foundation. This is a quest that leads, sadly, not to just one product but to several, layered on, one after the other.

Before foundation come moisturiser benefits of cinnamon and primer, products as sophisticated as Chanel’s new Eclat Originel, an emulsion that boosts the skin’s micro-circulation and cell metabolism to give you a healthy glow. Or Prescriptives’ Traceless, which works an astonishing kind of magic, neutralising visible imperfections by adjusting with the light. It sounds impossible, but use it and you will find that your skintone looks like it has been worked over with an airbrush.

As for the colour palette, Dowsett had a plate of digestive biscuits lined up next to all her foundations and powders, to use as inspiration. To achieve the flawless end result, she mixed Chantecaille’s Future Skin foundation in Wheat with a little moisturiser to give the skin an even finish. She shaped, combed and coated the brows and lashes with clear mascara, then used Clinique’s brow shaper in Shaping Taupe. She brushed Ruby & Millie’s brown and beige shadow across the eyelid, and used MAC’s Beelicious pale yellow eye pencil inside the rim like kohl. Further biscuity tones were applied in the form of Clarins’ Summer Face Powder, used as blush; Shu Uemura’s yellow Glow On powder, to sculpt the cheekbones; and Chanel’s amazing Bronze Universelle, for a matte tan glow.

The “no make-up” lip look was created using MAC’s yellow/brown lipstick, Mist, mixed generously with Laura Mercier Lip Balm. For the finishing touch, the whole face was lightly brushed with Estee Lauder’s Lucidity translucent face powder — although, as you can see, the look is fresh and glowing, and not remotely powdered.