Nike, Strava and Instagram: 10 of the best apps for runners

From accelerometers to zombies, the range of options to encourage, guide and record your efforts are endless. Here are the ones worth the investment

Fit in my 40s: ‘I’m not an elegant climber, but sometimes I feel like Spider-Man’

You have to plan your climb before you start. All the moss and gunk, the to-do lists, the anxieties, it all vanishes

Fit in my 40s: ‘I turn up at 6.30am to what looks just like an actual rave’

I think it’s morally better to do exuberant jumping and dancing and sweating at a ‘sober rave’ for its own sake, rather than self-improvement

Fit in my 40s: ‘Vaping me is like smoker me rebooted’

I have brought myself to a level of nicotine addiction my younger self wouldn’t have got up early enough for

Whole-body cryotherapy: what are the cold hard facts?

Immersing oneself in air frozen to as low as -160C has its sporting champions – including Leicester City and the Welsh rugby team – but does it stand up to scientific scrutiny?

Fit in my 40s: ‘I look like a Doctor Who monster with emphysema’

It’s part two of my MOT – muscle density, heart, lungs. It’s worse than being naked

School clamps down on phones and Fitbits to ease body image worries

Stroud high school for girls says tech gadgets and social media exacerbate pressures leading to low self-esteem

The loneliness of the injured runner

When you are truly committed to running, it can start to define you. When injury takes that away, even temporarily, you can find yourself adrift

Fit in my 40s: ‘The brute fact is, something must be done’

I’m going to do whatever it takes not to decay faster than other people