Most of us don’t have the motivation or resolve to force ourselves to do a deliberately tough running session. Isn’t it enough that we’re up and jogging? Who’d choose the pain of a speed workout if there wasn’t someone there to force us into it – especially if you’re not training for something?

Well, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing (voluntarily) for the past three months. With no races in the diary and after months of excruciating physio sessions for ongoing tendon trouble, I’ve been getting out at the crack of dawn to do 300m repeats and hill sprints – as prescribed by my trusty coach, Runna.

I first came across the app back in May at the Hackney Half marathon. The app had a stall with the names of their participating trainees listed large. It looked like half the course was on a Runna plan, and since then, I keep meeting devotees of the app. My Strava timeline is flooded with Runna runs; three of us in the Stylist digital team are on it.

“I’ve been using a digital running coach app for 3 months – here’s how it’s made me a stronger, happier runner”