Training for Hills

Whether you’re a beginner looking to make big improvements or a seasoned off-road runner looking for a competitive edge, hill training is an integral part of preparing for trail and mountain events.  It’s fair to say that they’re one of the reasons off-road running is so interesting - everyone has different strengths and weaknesses on uneven terrain, with the best runners being those who can excel on any gradient and level of technicality.  The possibilities for hill training are endless, from short uphill sprints to long uphill tempos, to training on a loop with alternating climbs and descents.  So, how to make the most of your hill training?

Firstly, it’s important to mention that there is no substitute for running on bigger hills.  While it’s not always possible to do this frequently if you live somewhere quite flat, getting out to hilly areas when you have the chance is by far the best way to improve.  Here we’ll provide our favourite uphill sessions for when you have big hills available, and for when you don’t.

When big hills aren’t available

Sprints on a small hill are very useful for developing running-specific leg strength, and are a great addition to your early-season training.

A session of 10-second uphill sprints will:

1. Recruit fast twitch muscle fibres, increasing your power and resistance to fatigue

2. Improve elastic energy storage and running efficiency by reducing ground contact time

3. Raise the roof on your maximum power output, thus creating room for improvement at longer event distances

Six to ten reps is plenty.  You need to leave a lot of recovery between each sprint (at least 2 mins) to allow each rep to be absolutely maximal speed. 

Pre-fatigued reps

Doing some harder running on the flat before you start your uphill effort is a good way to generate fatigue if you only have a small incline.  For instance, if your hill only takes about a minute to run up, start your rep 400-800m away from the hill so that you have a good section of fast, flat running to fatigue the legs before you hit the incline.  Alternatively, do a 15-20 min tempo run on the flat followed by some 1-minute uphill reps.

Treadmill running

Although it doesn’t sound terribly inspiring, a treadmill or stair climber can be very useful for getting some long sustained climbs if big hills aren’t readily available.  Doing one or two runs at an incline on the treadmill each week would be highly beneficial when combined with a longer run on bigger hills at the weekend.

Circuit run

This is another great way to get some uphill training from your legs in a tired state.  In a gym with a treadmill (or on a hill outdoors), intersperse uphill running with leg and full body exercises such as squat jumps, lunge walks, skipping rope, press ups, plank, burpees, etc.

This will allow you to create local muscular fatigue in the leg muscles and stimulate greater muscle fibre recruitment. This is particularly good for strength endurance training in the early season.

Sessions for big hills

Longer reps

Once you have a good base in place (e.g. hill sprints, short hill reps, and longer sustained climbs at an easier intensity) you can begin doing 15 to 25 minutes of total of higher intensity uphill running, in the form of long reps or an uphill tempo.  Think of starting with some 3-4 minute reps, and building the rep duration over a number of weeks to a few 6-8 min reps before adding in a 15-20 minute uphill tempo.  The possibilities are endless, for instance you could mix short and long reps, or add in some short uphill sprints after your uphill tempo run.

Up and down reps

Reps that incorporate both a hard climb and fast descent will also be a good training stimulus for the need to descend on tired legs during a race.  For these sessions, you could find a hill which allows you to run hard uphill for 3-5 minutes, followed by a fast descent back to your starting point, and a rest at the bottom.  You could also train your descending skills by including some fast 45-60s surges on the downhill after a long uphill tempo, or just running at threshold effort for 15-30 mins on an undulating route with lots of climbs and descents.

Our golden rules of hill training

1. Be specific - look at the length, gradient and overall ratio of climb to distance in your target events and aim to replicate this in your training sessions

2. Train your weaknesses - particularly in the off-season and early season, aim to get out on terrain where you usually lose places in races, whether that’s a steep climb or a fast, gradual descent

3. Create a logical progression in your training - for instance, if you struggle on long climbs, start with short hill reps to start, and build up the duration of your hill reps over a number of weeks.