If you’re like me, you probably did your best to avoid running in hilly areas when you first started running. Let’s face it: hills are hard. But they’ll also make you a better runner, and in some instances, you really do need to train on hills. So, quit avoiding the hills and tackle them like the tough runner you are. Today’s post is all about hill running tips and how to make the best of running hills, even if you hate them.
But why do I need to run hills?
Whenever I think of hill running, I think of this quote by Frank Shorter:
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Hill running is a great way to add in a little speed work to help you get faster. Running up an incline makes you work harder: it’s more difficult to run at the same pace up a hill than it is on flat ground. Hill running will help you develop your aerobic endurance, helping you run faster and longer over time. Tackling hills will also make you a stronger runner, strengthening your leg muscles and your mental endurance at the same time.
Types of Hill Running
Hilly Training Runs. Hilly training runs are really essential if you’re going to be racing on a hilly course. You need to train your body to run both uphill and downhill. If you’re running an easy or long run on a hilly course, focus on running hills at the same effort as you do the flat parts of your course. You’ll need to slow down on the uphills, sometimes quite a bit, but when your focus is getting in some mileage at an easy effort, you’re defeating the purpose of the run if you power up hills.
It’s just as important to practice running downhill when training to run a hilly course. Try not to speed up too much on the downhills—when you get to the bottom of the hill, you’ll tend to keep the same cadence in your legs and start running too fast. Try to control your landing as much as you can with your legs on the downhills to avoid putting too much stress on your joints.
Hill Repetitions. Think of hill repetitions as doing speed work or track work on a hill. However, because you’re running up a hill, you’re actually putting a little less stress on your body compared to running repeats on a level, so hill repetitions can be great for injury-prone runners looking to add in a little speed work. Just be aware that running hills does put a little extra stress on your Achilles tendon, so if you’ve had an Achilles injury you may want to take it easy on the hill repeats.
Hill Sprints. Hill sprints consist of, as the name suggests, sprinting up a hill for a short period of time. Coach Brad Hudson has his athletes run hill sprints. In his book Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon, Coach Hudson suggests starting at a 6-8% incline and doing just a few sprints up the hill, around 8 seconds each, then gradually increasing the number of sprints, the incline, and the duration.
Do you include hill running in your training?
Experienced runners: Have any hill running tips you’d like to share?
Any questions about hill running that you’d like to have answered?
I used to definitely avoid running hills whenever I could. I was horrible at it. I’ve tried to incorporate some hills into my running this training season and it’s still a struggle but it’s definitely been better for my running than trying to ignore them completely and crossing my fingers during hilly races!
It does get easier! But yeah, at first, running up hills really does stink. Hope it keeps getting easier for you! 🙂
I started running in Riverside Park, Central Park, and then in Cville, so all I did was run hills! They are kind of my secret weapon–I can pass people right and left on them!
Yeah, when I lived in Clemson I was a much better hill runner. There’s a relatively steep hill near my house that I try to tackle on my daily runs. I keep telling myself I need to keep in good hill running shape!
I do NOT like running hills, but I agree that it’s important to include them in your training! I love these tips. Great post Beth!
Thank you so much, Heather! xo
For a long time I have avoided major hills by taking walk breaks of .05-.2 miles up/down. Although, I still run very uneven terrain in NYC in Central Park and in CT in a very hilly town, it’s the major hills that get to me. For example, I’ll run most of the loop in the park but walk the last .2 miles up Harlem Hill and a bit on the down. It started out as dislike, but I’ve found hills aggravate my hip flexor a lot more after an injury last year!
Yeah, sometimes you have to take it easy on the hills, especially if you’re injured. If it’s really steep, briskly walking up a hill can take the same effort as running on a flat road, so it’s not necessarily a bad thing to walk a bit!
First off, beautiful redesign, Beth!
I used to avoid running hills, but since I moved to the Seattle suburbs it’s pretty difficult! I’ve been incorporating them a lot more lately and it’s nice to see how much my pace on even easy flat runs has improved.
Thank you so much, Laura! Hill running really does help you get faster. I used to live in upstate South Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains and I did a fair amount of running up and down hills on my training runs. It really made a difference!
When/if I ever run hills, I would take them nice and slow and put on some GOOD MOTIVATING music! ha ha!
Yes, it’s all about getting ready mentally to tackle the hills!
Everyone runs our one bridge here in town because there are no actual hills.
I’ve heard of people running up parking decks in flat areas to practice hill running. Gotta do what you gotta do! 🙂
I am not a fan of hills. Since it’s pretty flat around here, I don’t do much hill training. My coach makes me do tons of glute work, and that powers me up the hills we have. But I’m running Big Sur in April, and so I will have no choice but to do some hill work…
Oh yeah, you’ll definitely need hill training for Big Sur! Good luck, friend! 🙂
I always love tips related to running hills, which are useful for me – a runner likes running hills. Thank for your sharing!
I am not into running much and hill running is somewhat very difficult. It requires both physical and mental strength. I r one day definitely try it.