I’ll never play golf like Rory McIlroy. But maybe he can teach me how to live with my mistakes

I need to stop dwelling on everything I get wrong, from sending my ball into the drink to squeezing the wrong bottom, writes Adrian Chiles

‘One father threatened to stab the referee’: why does kids’ football bring out the worst in parents?

When they’re not shouting at their own children, many of Britain’s soccer dads like nothing more than swearing at the officials, or even trading blows on the touchline. Isn’t this supposed to be fun?

‘I was taking on a monumental challenge’: racing driver Billy Monger on why being a double amputee hasn’t slowed him down

After a horrifying crash, Billy Monger lost both his legs at 17. But from dancing on Strictly to setting a world record in the Ironman, he’s still powering ahead. Just don’t call him an ‘inspiration’…

Gifts for runners: the best shoes, socks and vests to buy the running enthusiast in your life

From pro athletes to parkrun enthusiasts, runners of all stripes told us what gifts they would love to unwrap

‘I’ve had seals nibble my toes!’ How sunkissed Cornwall became a 422-mile surf paradise

Surfing? It’s as Cornish as piracy and pasties. As a thrilling exhibition opens in ‘Britain’s California’, we enter a heady world of coffinboards, hotdogging Aussies – and bans dished out to gangs fighting on the beach

From stiff necks to ‘lazy glutes’: why these unloved muscles could prevent injury – and how to train yours

Never heard of your lower trapezius? Don’t know your rotator cuff from your neck flexor? To alleviate common injuries, it’s time to get to know them

Move body and mind: five exercises to improve mental health, from twists to lunges

Combining ideas from therapy with physical activity can bring huge health benefits, say the therapists pioneering a holistic approach

From turbo trainers to running buggies: the fitness gear that made you fitter

‘The best £12 I ever spent’: real fitness starts with the right kit. Here’s the gear that helped these ordinary people get fit and stay motivated

The creatine conundrum: can it really help your muscles and your brain?

Long favoured by bodybuilders and other athletes, this supplement is breaking out into the mainstream, as study after study suggests a host of benefits for our minds as well as our bodies. Are there any caveats?

‘A target on their back’: college athletes face wave of abuse amid gambling boom

Some states are moving to ban ‘proposition bets’, a type of side wager, but big firms are lobbying against it