I am a 31-year-old male runner who suffers from severe atopic eczema. Some days, and even some weeks, I am too sore or generally too run-down to train. I run mainly because I enjoy it, but also to keep fit and because it is beneficial to my health.

Although running helps me to cope with the illness, my training needs to be fairly moderate (20-25 mpw); otherwise my health tends to break down. From about the age of 14, I have competed off and on over various distances on the track, on the road, and cross-country - that is, when my skin condition allowed it. Within the last couple of years, my club, Bexley Borough, has gained Division 1 status in the southern league.

Despite my lack of any real talent, I have been able to gain a place in the 3000m steeplechase (an event I enjoy), mainly because we are fairly weak in the middle-distance events.

On average, when not ill, my weekly training consisted of the following:
1. Easy long run of about 40-50 minutes
2. 6 x 400m repetitions in 68-70 seconds (about 2 minutes recovery)
3. 4-5 mile steady run
4. 3-4 mile easy jogging, replaced about every other week with a 3-mile hard fast run

A hilly brainwave
The season before last was very frustrating for me. I was not at all happy with my form, only managing times of about 11.05-11.20. Desperately wanting to break 11 minutes (in order to gain a bit of credibility and some self-respect) I decided to take some action. For health reasons my options were limited. However, some knowledge gained from reading Peak Performance helped me to make two key changes to my general training. The articles on the training methods of the Kenyans had been of particular interest to me, not least because of their phenomenal success at the steeplechase.

It occurred to me that their hard runs over hilly terrain might go some way to explain why they are so good at this event. Being limited by the number of hard training sessions I'm able to handle per week, I had a brainwave: to combine a hill session with a long run. Therefore, once a week, instead of my usual long run of about 40-50 minutes, I went out for a run of at least 40 minutes in my local park - which, conveniently, is very hilly. During this run I would continuously run up and down very long, steep, tough hills. I must emphasise that these were particularly severe hills. By the end of the run I would complete about seven in total. In addition, I should add that I pushed it quite hard up the hills, and attempted to recover while running down.

Cutting out the 400m reps
The second change involved the weekly speed session. The usual 400m reps were omitted completely. My reasoning was that these only made me good at 400m reps, which was probably not much use for 3000m races. What I needed was to develop the sustained pace endurance required for a successful steeplechase. I had to mimic the intensity of a 3000m, but in chunks that were manageable in training.

On a weekly basis I began to run 4-6 intervals at roughly race pace, or slightly greater, of about 2.5-3 minutes duration, initially taking rests of around 2 minutes between reps. After becoming fitter, I gradually whittled the recovery periods down to around 1 minute.

These intervals were not run over accurately measured distances. But they were chosen to be of a length that could be reasonably covered at a slightly faster than race pace, and fell between certain landmarks in my local area (on the road or in parks). The distance covered was probably in the region of around 800-1000m.

In an attempt to avoid boredom, I varied the training session and kept it reasonably flexible. For instance, I might run four intervals very fast with complete recoveries, or I might run six intervals at a slower pace but separated by slower rest periods.

This idea of more specific training was also gleaned from Peak Performance. The thinking behind the training session was to make me more accustomed to race speeds, and, importantly, better able to maintain a good pace for the entire duration of the race.

Don't be afraid of rest!
After carrying out these changes, my weekly programme looked something like this:
1. 40+ minutes of continuous running up and down long, steep hills in tough parkland
2. 4-6 intervals of 2.5-3 minutes, at slightly faster than race pace, with 1-2 minutes recovery
3. 4-5 mile steady run
4. 3-4 miles easy jogging, replaced approximately every other week with a hard fast run of three miles.

The introduction of these two high-intensity sessions into my regular weekly programme, replacing the long run and the 400m reps, was helped by taking plenty of rest.

Not being afraid of rest is, I am sure, a key point. It allows the physiological changes in the body to take place that enable a fitter state to be attained. Because of my particular health problem I am sometimes forced to take quite a bit of rest - often for periods of about a week. But I don't let this worry me. Experience has taught me that I do not lose any noticeable fitness by doing this - something, perhaps, that healthier athletes could learn from.

The remainder of my training week consisted of one steady run of about five miles and perhaps some easy jogging on another day. Every other week, the easy jogging was replaced with a fast, hard run of around three miles to help improve VO2max (I used to do this before in my previous training).

What happened next
When the next season arrived, the results were dramatic. I experienced a huge improvement in form. My PB was slashed to 10.38. All my race times were 30-40 seconds faster than the previous year. Needless to say, I was absolutely delighted.

The lessons to be learned from my experience are that 40 minutes of continuous running across tough, hilly terrain improves overall fitness, endurance and strength, and that massive gains can be made by increasing specificity. Splitting a race distance into 4-6 manageable chunks, and running them at race pace or greater, with short recoveries, is far more likely to improve race times than lots of 400m reps.

Although admittedly my situation is a bit unusual, I believe that these principles can be applied by more normal athletes. For those of you who run the steeplechase, and are probably far more talented than I am, I believe that Kenyan-style hill running is ideal for preparing for the demands of the event, such as an ability to cope with the changes of pace required, and producing the leg strength which is so vital for recovering from the barriers and, in particular, when exiting the water jump.

Stephen Robjohns