Any initial hopes I had of forgoing 12 weeks of running around the park for one and a bit days of sheer agony taking part in the Bupa Great North Run have been knocked on the head by everyone I have spoken to who has run one of these things.  My "it'll be all right on the day" attitude is misguided. Some form of training is necessary.  Preparation for that training starts with a visit to a physiotherapist at the Bupa Centre in the Barbican, London, for some expert advice. There I receive what only can be described as a very thorough examination.  My physiotherapist, David Toy, has me doing stretches of muscles I never knew I had in positions I never thought were possible.  A few things are spotted – a tight hamstring on the left leg, a stiff thigh muscle on the right and surprisingly poor rotation of the hips for a young man.  Notes are scribbled furiously in my "report card" and I am given suitable stretches to do at home which will relax the muscles in no time, Toy assures me.  Afterwards it is time to assess my walking and running style using a process called video gait analysis. So I walk barefoot at a normal walking pace on a treadmill while one camera films my feet from behind and another records the front. I then jog with my socks and shoes on at a leisurely pace. Again my style is filmed using both cameras before I run at the fastest speed on the treadmill.  The purpose is to see at which angle and shape my feet leave and hit the ground when I am running. It's the best way of finding out which trainers will be suitable for me – probably the most important investment for a run of any length.  Toy explains: "Video gait analysis allows us to see a more complete picture of the interaction of the levers that comprise the foot and lower limb and determine issues of potential failure.  "We can see running in slow motion and review your running style to determine if any errors have crept into your gait which might lead to potential tissue breakdown and failure.  "Such analysis can determine your predisposition to such things as knee pain, calf pain and tendonitis, gluteal muscle tightness and many more issues of the foot and lower limb."  Toy's diagnosis of my style isn't disastrous, all things considered. It is fascinating to watch my awkward running style in slow motion as I pick up movements I never realised I made.  My left foot behaves itself but my right foot points outwards slightly. The camera filming from behind shows my left heel with no toes visible on that side. But on the right foot a couple of toes could be seen.  Having the foot pointing outwards places more pressure on the tendon at the top of the foot, causing it to collapse inwards slightly, Toy explains.  It is the reason I suffer more painful shin splints in my right leg than in my left.  There's little I can do about it, though. Only serious athletes work at trying to change their running style. What I need in the time I have is a pair of comfortable trainers which will limit the problems.  "It's important to have trainers which match and complement the architecture of your foot," says Toy. "There is a massive increase in load through the foot during running. The correct trainers will ensure that any altered foot biomechanics do not undermine tissue tolerance leading to common failure issues." In other words, choose the wrong shoes and I could end up with blisters, calluses, tendonitis, joint inflammation or muscle overuse.  So, at Runners Need, a chain of specialist running shops, I am fitted for the trainers that will, I hope, see me through 13.1 miles in under two hours.  While there I kit myself out in some serious running gear – I may as well look the part. I buy a T-shirt featuring something called "USP fabric technology" which the sales assistant says will keep me dry during the run.  A pair of Wrightsock double layer running ankle socks which should make my feet feel "snug" in my fancy new trainers are also purchased. I decline an offer to buy Lycra shorts.  Later I pick up a copy of a book entitled Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. It features a 57-year-old Mexican tribesman who won a 100-mile race wearing only a toga and flip flops, and presumably without any video gait analysis.  I'm keen to know how. Nothing wrong relaxing with a bit of reading before the real training begins.
Bupa Team Telegraph member Peter Hutchison finds there's more to preparing for    the Bupa Great North Run than meets the eye.