The line between training and overtraining is a fine balance between training vs recovery, exercise vs exercise capacity and stress vs stress tolerance¹. We all have day-to-day stresses, whether that is from your job, commute, family, studying, redecorating your house or that broken boiler; then we add training into the stress mix. If all these ingredients leave stress levels too great, training no longer has a positive effect on health, and the toxic mix of chronic stress becomes detrimental to health².

We are a motivated bunch: we run double, triple and quadruple marathons for fun; swim-bike-run in one sitting further than most people would in a month; then we decide that’s not enough, and aim to compete, not just complete. We push ourselves in all aspects of life, as mediocrity just doesn’t cut it.

It is no surprise that as endurance athletes we are highly…