Eastbourne is in the midst of an image change thanks to an influx of university students and downsizing ex-Londoners. And the Running Inn is getting in on the act. “Costa Geriatica, it ain’t”, says the pub-style chalkboard outside this friendly B&B, which is bound to attract interest among any spectators of tomorrow’s London Marathon who are inspired to get in training.

Fiona Bugler and Mike Ovens opened the Running Inn (which also, confusingly, goes by the name of Guesthouse East) last June. Bugler is a fitness journalist and “ultra- marathon” runner, while Ovens had spent 25 years in the Navy. Both are qualified personal trainers.

They offer two-night weekend breaks that include circuits by the sea, hill-running along Eastbourne’s cliffs and expert talks on nutrition and running shoes, a Pilates session (where I found my neutral pelvis and discovered a Swiss ball) and massage (£15). Weekends finish with a fitness assessment, and you’re later e-mailed an exercise plan so that you can keep up the good work. There are eight hours of sessions, finishing at 4pm on Sunday.

The B&B itself is a little bland: just off the promenade in a Victorian house with six large rooms with high ceilings, pale colours, small televisions and jars of sweets (for energy, says Bugler). Eight months of renovation has ensured that everything works, but the decor is neutral and lacks charm, with a cold and empty feel.

But that doesn’t matter when you’ve come for the running. Ovens is reminiscent of my old games master, Mr Kilmore. Keen, encouraging, in constant good humour, and always wanting to get that extra effort — in other words, a nightmare. He’s wise to slackers. “Five more, Kieran.” But I’ve done five! “I didn’t see them.” Bugler is more of the coaxing school of wiles. As we run up a near-vertical hill in a Force 8 gale, I hear the refrain: “This is too easy for you, isn’t it, Kieran? Another ten minutes.”

Both are genuine in their zeal to get you fitter with realistic long-term goals. I left — slightly achily — with my comprehensive assessment digested over a pint and pork scratchings in the nearby The Nuthouse pub.

Bottom line: Kieran Falconer paid £175 for two nights’ B&B, two lunches, snacks, bottled water, instruction and exhaustion. From £250pp in September. Room only from £40pp per night.

Sampling the fare: Healthy breakfast, porridge, muesli, pancakes and Coco Pops. Ovens’s lunch, veggie soup, veggie curry (good), salads.

What we think: A hands-on, charming couple — not fanatical anorak runners — who operate non-stop weekends for beginners looking for guidance right up to marathon wannabes.

Worst thing: Decor. I want pictures of running greats: Ovett, Holmes, Bannister, Radcliffe . . . Falconer.

Need to know: Running Inn (01323 720640, www.therunninginn.com), 13 Hartington Place, Eastbourne, Sussex.

Access all areas: No.

Room: 5 out of 10.

Food: 5 out of 10.

Service: 9 out of 10.

My fitness: 2.72 out of 10 (before the weekend), 2.73 (after).

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