How to Effectively Run Hills

​I know several athletes (myself included), who have sometimes avoided a seemingly ideal race, simply because it has a hilly course. And for many amateur runners, that’s with good reason. Every time I race - and sometimes just when I’m out on a training run - I see people mismanage the hills, which always comes back to haunt them later in the run. They then assign themselves the label of ‘not a good hill runner’, which many times follows them throughout their running career. And sure, there are some that naturally excel at hillier courses- but for the grand majority of runners and triathletes, they have never been taught how to run hills effectively. Let’s take a deeper look at why we run hills and address how to do so more effectively.

Running hills has multiple benefits. It builds power, enhances good technique, raises the anaerobic threshold and Vo2 max, and maximizes gains to the aerobic, anaerobic, and creatine phosphate energy systems in the body. BUT, we don’t necessarily do them all simultaneously- different hill workouts target different goals. Just like every workout we do, we need to have a defined purpose for each hill workout. For example, running hills in the context of a race setting is very different from doing hill intervals as fast as possible during training. So let's explore the differences. 

INTERVALS:

When we incorporate specific hill work in training, we are generally talking about some time of hill interval. (This isn’t always the case, but for now, let’s stick with talking about intervals). When we do an interval, we usually have a set time of work and set time for recovery. An example of this might be ‘hill repeats’, where we are ‘repeating’ a specific number of hill efforts over the course of a workout. A hill repeat targeting the creatine phosphate energy system (which is responsible for extremely short, explosive, high intensity work) might include a set of 10 x 8 second uphill sprints as fast as possible. 

This type of effort would also include a full recovery of several minutes, allowing an athlete to ‘repeat’ the effort in virtually the exact same fashion (meaning same speed over the 8 seconds). We need to remember that when we target specific energy systems, we need to allow enough recovery to ensure we’re ready to go at the targeted effort at the same intensity again. 

This may deviate from a hill interval workout that might target the anaerobic energy system, which might include efforts from 20 seconds up to several minutes. When working anaerobically, we’re teaching the body to become more efficient at working longer at high intensity. When this system is used, we are burning muscle glycogen as fuel, and buffering lactate which develops in excess in our muscles. We ‘push’ our threshold higher to allow for more work at higher intensity. Recovery time for these intervals can also range from just a few seconds to several minutes depending on the fitness of the athlete and the time of the work interval. 

When performing hill intervals at relatively high intensities like previously mentioned, we need to focus on maintaining good form and pushing hard to sustain the prescribed effort (usually an “8,9, or 10/10” on the Perceived Effort scale). We maintain good form by staying upright while leaning slightly into the hill at the ankles. The arms are driving hard, usually at a right angle, adding propulsive force as we go. The knees drive up and forward as we lift the toes, landing on the balls of our feet and springing upwards. 

STEADY STATE

The other way we run hills would be during a ‘steady state effort’, for example a Zone 2 aerobic effort, or during a race setting when the goal is to go as fast as possible over the course. Regardless of the desired effort (as fast as possible, easy recovery, Zone 2, or anything in between), the goal is simple: FLATTEN THE HILLS! What in the world does that mean? It means we want to keep the effort consistent, regardless of elevation. And THIS is where so many age group athletes and recreational runners alike get running hills wrong.

Let’s say we’re theoretically running a half marathon, keeping pace alongside a “traditional amateur runner”.  We approach a significant hill, and like most, the runners charge up the hill in an effort to maintain the goal race pace, pushing hard to get to the top. Cresting the top, they let gravity pull them down the hill while recovering from the surge. Now, they are several meters ahead and have seemingly gained an advantage. 

So, what’s wrong with this strategy? 

Well, several things, starting with the increased metabolic demand due to charging up the hill. When we quickly go hard uphill, we push near or above our lactate threshold (the point at which we are unable to clear lactate that accumulates in our bloodstream). Doing this not only accumulates too much lactate in our muscles, but the heart rate skyrockets, and we accumulate too much heat in our body. Once that heat is accumulated, it is very difficult to dissipate, and the HR stays high. It becomes next to impossible to bring our HR and core temperature back down, unless we drastically slow our pace. 

Charging uphill also burns through our muscle glycogen stores much quicker than normal, so we’ve increased our need for glucose and have now jeopardized our fueling plan. Unfortunately, we can’t just ‘take another gel’, as when we’re above our lactate threshold, blood leaves the gut slowing absorption and causing GI distress.

Additionally, we have increased and compounded the mechanical load on our body in two ways: first as we must generate more force into the ground to go faster as we fight against gravity uphill, and 2, by going downhill with poor form. Both the uphill and downhill efforts over-tax the musculoskeletal system. Typically, athletes will overstride (foot landing too far out in front of body, landing on a straighter leg)  when running downhill while fatigued, increasing both the braking force and impact force. 

However, IF we can ‘flatten the hills’, none of this occurs. By maintaining the same EFFORT, not the same pace, we essentially convert a hilly run into a uniform effort or essentially making the run flat, metabolically speaking. Yes, this means slowing down as we move up the hill. And yes, I’ve even walked up steep hills during a race! But that allows us to keep our HR relatively low, focus on maintaining good form, and avoid burning through precious glycogen stores. When we begin to crest the hill, we can begin to accelerate with good form and use that solid run technique to help us as we run downhill.  We can even ACCELERATE  down the decline, running under control and keeping our bodies as perpendicular as possible to the hill (which minimizes overstriding.)

Back to our theoretical race: by this point, we have caught up to (and most likely passed) our fellow runner that charged up the hill. Only we haven’t suffered any of the metabolic and neuromuscular stressors they most certainly have. Essentially, we’re now ahead, as we’ve passed the runner who is now struggling to maintain pace. We finish the race strong, having not squandered our energy stores, accumulated too much heat, or added undo mechanical stress in the process.

How do we implement these tactics? Simple. PRACTICE! We need to practice our hill running - from hard hill repeats to slow zone 2 hill work, perfecting this takes time. Focusing on things like running downhill, maintaining form while doing hill sprints, and maintaining steady state efforts over hilly terrain all take time and practice- but will make you a much stronger and more savvy runner. 

So, the next time you’re considering signing up for a hilly race, don’t let the fear of hills limit you. Start practicing the skills and tactics we’ve discussed, bite the bullet and register! My bet is that you surprise yourself and the race will go much better than you think.

Maybe after you’ll even label yourself as being ‘a good hill runner’....well, just maybe…