Who among us doesn’t want to improve their uphill running prowess. Hills can be intimidating, especially thinking about the vert profile of a tough ultra. A little investment in you hill climbing each week will pay big dividends though, and those hills won’t feel nearly as intimidating. Let’s go over some of my favorite things to incorporate into your training that will help you tackle hills with confidence, power, and speed.
One of the most effective ways is to incorporate hill strides into your weekly easy runs 1-2x per week. Find a hill that has a challenging yet runnable grade and do 4-6 reps of 20-30 second strides up the hill to cap off an easy run. Like a traditional stride, you want to start off nice and easy, and slowly accelerate throughout the stride, maxing out at about an 8/10 effort (only for the last several seconds). Doing these will improve your running economy without overly stressing your system, allowing you to recover faster.
You also should incorporate hill repeats occasionally. Once per month is good during base building but increase the frequency to once every week or two leading up to a hilly race.
Find a hill that you can run up for 3-5 minutes. Start with a solid warm up, aim for about 4-6 reps and finish with a nice cool down jog. Perform each rep at about a 7-8/10 effort. The goal is to be breathing hard but not totally gassed at the end of each rep. Slowly jog down the hill for recovery between reps. More advanced runners can add on a 10-15 minute flat ground run at a 6-7/10 immediately after the last hill rep.
Work on your pacing. When you hit a hill, start out slower than you want and find your groove. You can always pick it up after you settle into the climb, but if you burn too many matches early, you’ll hit the wall. So run when you can and hike when it makes sense. When you need to switch to hiking, don’t think of it like you can’t run anymore and need to hike. This makes it feel like the hill has defeated us. Instead, think of it as a tactical decision to switch to the most economical way to get up the hill, leading to a faster race. Not only is this the truth, but it keeps us in a more positive frame of mind during the race. Staying positive will also lead to better performance.
I’d also recommend practicing your hiking once a week for a few weeks leading up to the race. Hiking recruits different muscles than running, so the more efficiently you can hike, the better.
Have fun with these workouts. I think a lot of people avoid hills because they run them too hard. You don’t need to go to the well on every hill workout to see improvement. If you incorporate these tips into your well balanced training plan, I’m confident you will be tackling hills like a champion.
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