Hill Running

Whether you are training for a 5k or a 50k race incorporating hill running into your training schedule one day a week will have a big impact on your performance. Generally speaking most runners find hill training to be awful! Typically though that’s because hill running is the most painful and exhausting type of training you can go through (which is why you must keep it to one day a week max unless you’re a seasoned runner).

However difficult hill training may be it is also one of the most rewarding things a runner can do when trying to improve his/her performance. The benefits that a runner receives from hill training are both mental and physical. Below is a quick list of reasons why every runner should include hill running in their training program.

Benefits of Hill Running

1. Increased cardiac load (i.e. higher cardiac intensity) during uphill runs improves your aerobic capacity. As a runner that basically means that you become more efficient at using oxygen during exercise. So as your body adapts to the cardiac output at higher intensity you become more efficient at using oxygen during lower levels of cardiovascular training. You’ll find yourself huffing and puffing less during your longer, slower distance runs
2. Running hills also increases your strength, particularly with your quads, glutes, and the muscles that make up your calves (gastrocnemius and soleus). Will increased strength comes more speed and a body less likely to get injured as you increase your mileage
3. Your running technique tends to improve as well. Running uphill helps you increase stride length (as one leg pumps up the hill it opens up the hips and helps increase stride length) and running downhill forces you to take short, quick steps. So take advantage of both the uphill and downhill parts of hill running to improve not only stride length but your cadence as you move quickly and nimbly downhill before starting your next hill repeat
4. Running hills also makes you mentally stronger. For anyone training for a marathon or ultra marathon you’ll “hit the wall”at least once during the race. Hitting the wall yet still finishing the race requires as much mental strength as it does physical strength. Hill running is taxing mentally because of the intensity of it. But take advantage of those difficult hill training sessions to build your mental stamina and prepare yourself to push through barriers as a runner

Hill Running Posture

It’s also extremely important that you maintain proper posture when running uphill. The correct posture will enforce ideal biomechanics which translates to improved running efficiency as well as a lower likelihood of getting injured. As shown in the picture below there are a few things you want to keep in mind when running uphill:

1. Keep an upright posture but with a very slight lean forward. Most runners tend to collapse at the hips and lean heavily forward when they get tired. It’s even easier to do this when running uphill. But when you do this it places a lot of stress on your lower back (having a tight back late in a race is no fun) and also places a lot of stress on your hip flexors. Leaning forward while running uphill tends to exhaust the muscles of the hip leading to local tightness, discomfort and even acute injury. Remember to try and remain upright at the hips and lean into the heels at the ankle instead
2. Use your arms in a controlled pumping motion. You can generate a lot of additional force when engaging your arms in an uphill run. Don’t leave them stiff at your sides
3. Keep your head up and don’t stare at your toes. Staring at your toes is easy to do because you don’t want to trip while heading uphill. But staring at your toes tends to make you bend at the hips and break your upright position (leading to the issues address in #1 above)
4. Flexion at the ankles engages the calves and the achilles tendon. Use that to your advantage to spring/propel yourself up the hill. The achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the body and is meant specifically for running

Ultra marathoner Scott Jurek gives a really synopsis of uphill running technique in this Youtube video. He really goes into detail and I’d highly recommend watching the video.

How to Prepare for Hill Running

Ideally you’ll want to find a hill that is a 30-60 second climb. Don’t choose a hill that requires any more than 2-3 minutes to climb. Again the goal of hill running is to focus on intensity so a 30-60 second climb will suffice. Also be sure to pick a hill that does not have a consistent shoulder or pitch to it. For the same reason you shouldn’t run on the shoulder of a road, having a slanted surface with a consistent pitch to one direction can lead to injury because of the impact it has on your stride. That can quickly lead to joint injuries. Knee injuries in particular.

Once you’ve found the ideal hill to run on be sure to go on a 10 minute warm up run first. Use the last 2-3 minutes of the warm up to run some some short 100 minute tempo repeats (i.e. increase your speed for 100 meters at a time to help open up your stride and prepare your body for higher intensity). Once you are adequately warmed up (you should be sweating by now) you’re ready to run some hill repeats.

The number of hill repeats you run depends on your current fitness level. For most runners though you should aim to do no less than 4 repeats during a hill training session in order to get a good enough workout. On the way up the hill remember to focus on staying upright, pumping your arms, staring ahead of you instead of down at your fit, and takings lots of short quick steps up the hill. As you get near the top of the hill is when you should push your hardest. Don’t ease up at the top of the hill. When you ease up is typically when your form fails and you don’t want to develop bad habits. It’s also great mental training as you force yourself to push hard through the most difficult part of the climb.

Then catch your breath for 10 – 15 seconds and begin your descent. When running downhill it is perhaps more important to focus on form. Avoid taking long “heavy” steps where your feet make a thudding noise. That indicates heavy impact and is tough on your joints. When running downhill many runners actually call it “dancing” downhill since you want to remain as light as possible on your feet. Use your arms to keep you balanced and focus on having a really high cadence (think 90 – 100 full strides per minute at minimum) and stay on the balls of your feet. Do not heel stomp when running downhill. Heel stomping places a tremendous amount of stress on your knees. Once you are at the bottom of the hill take a light 45-60 jog to loosen up. Then return to the base of the hill and repeat.

Quick Recap of Hill Running

• It boosts your cardiac output and prepares your body to use oxygen better at higher intensities and for longer periods of time
• Hill running improves strength and stride length
• Do not introduce more than one day of hill running per week unless you are a seasoned runner and have been training on hills consistently
• Hill running should be done in repeats of at least 4 circuits of 30-60 seconds. Try increasing the number of repeats you do over time as you become better conditioned