This year's London Marathon may have been run but the running bug has been caught by many people keen to get fit.

Two courses offering running training with a difference will be taking place at the end of the month.

People know how to run. They say it is a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and moving faster than a walk.

But as with any other sport, using the proper technique means runners can improve their fitness, avoid injury and enhance their enjoyment of the experience.

Former Commonwealth runner Julia Armstrong and Alexander Technique practitioner Astrid Holm have both benefitted from athletics coach Malcolm Baulk's training scheme.

He is visiting Sussex this month to hold training sessions for serious runners and those who are more interested in doing running for fun.

Mr Baulk is a sports coach and a teacher of the Alexander Technique and Posetech, an innovative, biomechanical running method.

He flies in from Canada once a year to lecture at universities and work with athletics clubs, Alexander Technique colleges and the public.

Julia has organised a club-level training event in Eastbourne featuring Mr Baulk and Astrid is setting up a workshop with him for amateurs and beginners at the University of Sussex's Sportscentre.

The first event is in Eastbourne on May 30 and is for runners and triathletes capable of running five kilometres in 25 minutes or less.

It will combine running with the Alexander Technique which, Mr Baulk says, will result in a radical improvement in the bio-mechanical and technical aspects of student's running.

He says it will help people to run faster, more freely and prevent the occurrence of injury. Mr Baulk also gives a video analysis of each participant's running style.

Julia said: "The workshops are typically a mixture of 30 per cent theory and 70 per cent practical. They are fun and make a positive difference to the enjoyment and results of running."

The Alexander Technique encourages good use of the body and greater awareness of the way it functions.

Julia says: "I found the most powerful aspect of his work is it deals with causes and not only symptoms.

"As a result, people often benefit in many areas of their lives as part of a generalised, ongoing improvement."

The session for beginners and keen joggers will be at the Sportscentre and Stanmer Park on May 31 from 2pm to 5.30pm.

Astrid says: "Traditional sports training tends to concentrate on what the legs are doing and does not seem to take note of what happens above the legs.

"But in our lives, we build up harmful patterns of muscular tension that stop us from performing to our natural potential.

"Alexander Technique addresses these habits and allows people to enjoy using their bodies again."

Astrid says standing against a wall is a good way to check posture. She says stand with your back to the wall with your feet about an inch away. Then feel what part of the body comes into contact with the wall.

For example, if the shoulders hit first, you probably tend to tilt the pelvis too far forward. If the bottom hits first, you may be leaning too far forward. A combination of the two is more desirable.

When building up the correct technique, Astrid says the movement needed is similar to stepping over a small branch.

A person can practise walking along putting in a branch step every ten paces or so and gradually increasing the frequency of the step so, in the end, it is as if the legs are cycling.

Astrid says: "The first time I did one of Malcolm's running workshops, I was six months' pregnant and not really in the mood for running.

"By my second circuit of the park, I had completely forgotten my bump and was just enjoying the sheer pleasure of running.

"People leave the workshops with new ideas and often return to them year after year."

The idea is to learn how to enjoy running, free from pain and excess effort.

The first workshop starts from the Tri Store in Eastbourne on May 30 from 2pm to 5.30pm and on May 31 from 9am to 12.30pm.

For more details about the Eastbourne event, call 01323 417071 or email enquiries@thetristore.com Details about the Brighton event are available from the University of Sussex Sportscentre on 01273 678228.