0 How to Improve at Hill Running

One thing that commonly throws people in a race is hills. They're easier to run up near the start of the race, but as time passes and your body becomes more tired, they become much harder.
Yet still, some people seem to climb almost effortlessly whilst you're left struggling in their dust and soaking in sweat...how are they doing it? Well, most likely because of their training. By incorporating some simple things into your training routine, you too can also become a better hill run. 

1. Find Hills to Climb

I have said this so many times and I know I'm going to say it many times to come; if you want to improve at something, you need to do it more often. It won't happen otherwise - simple. 

For example: if there are two people who want to get better at basketball, one who trains a couple or so hours a day, and the other who trains maybe once a week, who do you think is going to improve at a faster rate? The person who trains for the couple or so hours a day. 

It's just the same with hill running, if you don't run hills very often you're not going to make an improvement.

So, with this in mind, find yourself a hill and make sure you run it. You can choose to do specific hill running sessions, where your workout focuses solely on hills, or you can incorporate a couple of hills into your run to make sure that you are applying different gradients to your sessions. 

I've seen people run sand dunes instead of hills, having the same effect. The steeper the hill the harder it is going to be to climb it and the more tired your legs will be. 

2. Hills Two or Three times a Week

It's great to run hills, but you will need to do them regularly in order to get your body used to the inclines. If you're race/event has rolling terrain, then you will want to train on rolling terrain. If the race you're entering has steep hills or one long sustained hill climb, then you will want to recreate those race conditions as best as possible in your running sessions.

It's good to run hills as often as you can. So, incorporating them into your running each time is a must. Hills have you not only fighting against fatigue but also against gravity too. This will make for a harder more strenuous run which will help to improve leg strength and stamina.

3. Incline on Treadmill

Some people, unfortunately, are not in a position where they can regularly run hills because they simply don't live near any hills or slopes. In this instance, training for a race/running event that includes hills can be difficult...but not impossible. 

A great way you can still train for hills is by using a treadmill. A treadmill will allow you to change the gradient you are running at, so you can alter between steep and shallow inclines to suit your needs. 

Also, unlike actual hill running, you can't stop to have a break because of the moving conveyor belt (providing you don't slow down or stop it with the buttons).

4. Do Hill Repeats

Hill repeats is an exercise which solely focuses on running hills. Basically, all it involves is ascending a hill of choice, descending it once you've reached the top, and then re-climbing it again once you've reached the bottom. Just keep repeating this until the time is up or until you've completed your repetitions. 30-40 minutes is a great amount of time for these sessions, however should be worked up to if you're a running beginner. If you are a beginner, then you may find this useful: How to Start Running.

With the amount of repetitions, this is hard to say because it depends entirely on the hill. The longer the hill the less repetitions. You can normally decide this for yourself with experience - just experiment to begin with, and make adjustments where necessary.

5. Improve Core Strength

It's beneficial for all runners to improve the strength of their core. Strengthening your core through training reinforces the way your abs, hips, pelvis and lower back work together. It will help prevent any unnecessary extra movement in your torso, keeping you from wasting energy, making you run faster. You will also gain improved stability and balance from a strong core, which are essential in running, especially hill running. So you can see why it's good to have a strong core.