Last week we talked about why you should run hills. Today, let’s talk about how to run hills safely and efficiently. While hills can be a great training tool, you also want to make sure you ease into hill running if it’s not something you’re used to.
How To Run Hills Safely and Efficiently
Use Proper Form
When running uphill it’s important to stay mostly upright, with a forward lean from your ankles. It’s common to want to lean over from your hips. Try to look straight ahead and keep your chest up. Use your glutes to power up the hill!
Build Up Your Hill Running Gradually
If you have never run hills, or if you haven’t run then in a long time, take some time to ease into hill running. Start by doing a couple of hills once a week. If you are running a long or very steep hill, just do it once and take walk breaks as needed. If you have a shorter hill to start with, you can do a few repeats that first week.
As much as we all complain about the treadmill, it’s a great tool for hill training because you have complete control over the incline and length of the hill. This is a great way to start running hills if you’re not used to them or don’t have any in your area.
Take Appropriate Recovery
After you run up a hill, make sure you recover by either running slowly, walking, or taking a break. The recovery method you choose will be dependent on your workout, the number of hills you are doing, your experience, etc. Make sure you listen to your body and allow it to recover well before running another hill.
Pay Attention to the Downhills
Downhills are my favorite part of hill running! But you need to be aware that this is also a different terrain for your body. In training runs or races that include hills, use the downhill to your advantage to gain some speed. If you are doing hill workouts you can walk down the hill or run down it at an easy pace. On very steep downhills you may find yourself leaning back. Try to avoid this, but leaning back will naturally slow you down if you find that you are going too fast and need to control the pace.
Pace Yourself
If you are including hills in a training run or race, pacing is so important. You want to slow down enough on the uphills so that you don’t waste too much energy, and try to catch up a bit on the downhills. Practicing hills in training runs will help you to do this on race day!
Find the Right Hill
Running hills outdoors is ideal because you learn to embrace whatever you are faced with, versus the treadmill where you have control over the incline and length of the hill. But treadmills are a great option for people who don’t have hills nearby. Bridges are also great for doing hill work! If you have none of these options, you could try running stairs to get a similar benefit (although not completely the same).
When looking for hills outside, you can alternate between different lengths and inclines. For hill repeats you can look for short hills that take about 30 seconds to run up and do faster intervals up those. Longer repeats can take 1-2 minutes and you may need to slow down on those kinds of hills. Also include hills in your training runs to help you work on pacing for races.
Hills are a great training tool. They can help your race better, make you mentally and physically stronger, and help improve your running form. Next week I am going to have one last post about hills with a few hill workouts for you to try!
You may also like:
Want to Run Faster? How to Adjust Your Training
How to Increase Hip Extension for Stronger Running
The Lazy Runner’s Short and Sweet Treadmill Hill Workout
Do you include hills in your training?
Do you do specific hill workouts or run hills along your regular routes?
Is it hard for you to pace yourself on hills in races?
Now it’s time for the Runners’ Roundup! Link up your running and fitness posts below! Join myself, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Runs with Pugs , and Laura Norris Running to post your favorite running tips, experiences, race and training recaps, workouts, gear, and coaching ideas.
Hill training was KEY for my ultra last weekend.
In hindsight, I should have added more downhill running. As you rightly say, this is a different terrain for the body and it’s a skill that needs to be learned, just like uphill running.
Excellent advice, Lisa!
Glad you felt prepared for the hills! The downhills are definitely different and challenging in a whole other way.
It can be hard to pace myself on hilly races! I know I tend to be slower uphill, so it’s kind of hard to make sure that I don’t run uphill too fast in the beginning and sap my energy.
That said, I’ve had some very good hilly races!
And I love running downhill too.
The pacing is really challenging! Sometimes its even worth walking some of the uphills to conserve that energy.
when I first started running I was petrified to run down hill bc I thought I would fall! Now I embrace them. The other day, I did a different route with some serious hills and sure felt it the next day. It’s great training to do every once in a while and I kind of like them
Steep hills still make me a little nervous when I run down them! But usually I love the downhill. Hills can be a great training tool if you embrace them.
Great advice. I don’t usually practice on hills and often walk up those hills in a race. It allows me to pass others on the downhills and finish faster.
I actually enjoy rolling hills mire than a flat or downhill course.
I’ve had many runners pass me in races by walking up the hills and then picking up their pace!
It took me a long time to learn how to run hills. Someone once told me not to fight the hills, but use them to your advantage. I used to take the uphills too fast, then I’d try to go too slow on the downhill (for fear of falling). When you use gravity to your advantage, though, the game changes! I think all of my stair-training has really helped me with running hills.
You definitely do need to use them to your advantage! I think thats why its so important to practice them, so you know how to handle them during a race.
These are great tips Lisa. Running hills can be tricky. I personally prefer to run on a flat road but I live in a super hilly area so hills are unavoidable! Thanks for sharing these tips to make hill running more manageable!
I generally prefer flat terrain too! When I really don’t want to deal with hills I usually just run on the treadmill. But there are some relatively flat routes I can do if I stay really close to home.
My immediate area is flat except for a freeway overpass that I do hill repeats on but I know where to find all the hills. I did a lot of hill training when I was training for my BQ. It was a major factor in meeting my goal.
You give sound advice. Thanks!
That’s so great that running hills helped you to get your BQ!
There are exactly zero hills on my route. Once a week, I go to the intercoastal bridge, which is about one mile long and 70 feet high and run back and forth over that. It’s literally the best we can do here.
That’s a great option to have! And at least most of your races will be flat!
Well, I really want to start running hills. For me it means either going to the gym to run on the treadmill, or driving to the turnpike to run over the bridge- I know, it sounds so picturesque! But… I know they’re so good for you.
It’s tough when hills aren’t convenient! Either of those are good options…just maybe not the best options for you!
We don’t have many hills or bridges, but there are some small ones that can be used for repeats! I miss some of the longer climbs I used to run in Seattle, I enjoy hills.
Its good that you have a few hills you can use for repeats! It can definitely be hard to train for hilly races without any hills around.