How hill sessions can help you run faster!
- Paul Raptis
- Nov 10, 2023
- 7 min read
If there is one kind of session that all runners should be getting in, it’s hill runs. Some of the hardest sessions and long runs I know are completed over hilly slopes. One example is the infamous Charlotte Pass run to the top of Mt. Koziousko. It has over 400m of elevation over 9(ish) km - with only about 500m being flat or a decline on the way up to the top, and you can take the Main Range trail back which adds about another 150-200m of elevation!
But what is the importance of hill training? What are the benefits of hill training? When is the best time to focus on these sessions? In this blog, I will provide my recommendations and advice regarding these questions and how hill sessions can help your running!
What are some benefits?:
There are three main benefits to completing hill sessions. It is important to note that the emphasis on these benefits will change depending on what part of the training year you are going through.
Biomechanics
How you run is very important for many reasons. Most importantly, if you can run more efficiently at a desired pace (e.g., 800m race pace), you can maintain your pace even when you start to get fatigued. A clear example of this is David Rudisha’s famous world-breaking 800m Olympic final in London, 2012 (Youtube link here)!
One of the reasons why hill sessions are thought to be a really good training session stimulus is that you can transfer the biomechanical-aspects worked on in these sessions into your running movements. While there are multiple aspects to your running biomechanics, I will discuss three components hills training aims to develop:
Knee drive (hip flexion)
Some runners who compete may have limited hip flexion when running. Whilst excessive hip flexion might not be necessary in longer races, such as 10k or half marathons, good hip flexion/extension whilst running can benefit you when you are required to run in races such as the 800 or 1500, or when a longer race requires you to put in a surge (or two). To watch its importance, look at the 100m final in Tokyo (link here).
When running up a hill, increased hip flexion (knee drive) is necessary to maintain similar speeds compared to running across a flat surface. By training yourself to increase your knee drive, you’ll be able to get more out of your step (pardon the pun) and improve your running performance!
Initial foot contact
Research into running biomechanics suggests our initial foot contact when running should be just in front of our hips (see image below) (Pizzuto et. al, 2019). For those who may find that they overstride, running up a hill forces your foot to land in the correct position, and it is believed that this can be transferred to running across flat surfaces (e.g., a track).
Image of initial foot contact. Taken from Pizzuto et. al (2019).
Whole body forward lean
When looking to run at maximal (or near-maximal) speeds, we need to have a whole-body lean as we are running fast, like the elite middle & long-distance runners across the world (Fitzgerald, 2022). Leaning forward when running helps us place our foot on initial contact towards our hips, as well as allows us to better utilise our glutes and hip muscles, arguably two of the “powerhouse” muscles of running (Geeks on Feet, 2022).
When we run up a hill at a decently quick pace (i.e, and pace faster than 10k), we are usually forced to lean forward from the ankles to maintain that pace or run faster. By teaching this during hill sessions, this can be transferred over to your running.
With all these aspects of your biomechanics put together, you can get a lot out of your hills session!
N.B: There are many ways these aspects of biomechanics can be learnt and developed by other methods as well (e.g., drills, strength training, speed training, etc.). However, this is one tool in the toolbox of working on your biomechanics as well as other factors of your running (e.g., endurance), especially if this is something you need to work on, but are limited by time constraints or other factors in your life!
Cadence
This refers to how many steps you are taking, measured as Steps Per Minute (SPM). Although cadence can be classified under biomechanics, as this can be determined by how you run, I believe this can be its own point in the context of hill running.
Your cadence is important because this can, along with other aspects of running, determine how fast you run a rep, session and/or race. If you want to run faster, you must step faster and get more out of each step. When I coach runners about their cadence, I like to refer to Sonic the Hedgehog. Whenever you play as Sonic, the faster he runs the quicker his legs move, to the point where they are moving that fast they become circles on our screens.
Taken from: https://sonic.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000126201
Just like Sonic the Hedgehog, we need to be able to move our legs quickly if we are looking to run at faster speeds. This is where hill training can be a benefit to you - running up a hill forces you to increase your cadence when aiming to run at the same pace on a flat surface (e.g., a track).
You can test this out by running 200-300m at a designated pace (e.g., 1500m pace) on a flat surface, and then try the same pace up a hill. You’ll notice the difference instantly! By teaching ourselves to increase our cadence when we compete, this is one step in the process of helping us get faster and achieve some PB’s across a season.
General running fitness!
The final benefit of completing hill training sessions is that they can help you get fit! Running up a hill during an easy run (depending on how steep it is) can add more stress to the run, and if you do some repeated efforts up the hill it can end up being a tough session for you (and your other running friends)!
If you are looking for a new way to challenge their run, add a hill or two into your loop; that would make it more challenging!
You are also going to experience hills in some longer races, such as road runs or cross-country races! The City2Surf has the famous “Heartbreak Hill” where, according to Strava, it is approximately 1.34km with 92m elevation gain (link here)! If you don’t do a couple of longer hill sessions, you may not be completely prepared to tackle Heartbreak Hill!
You need to expose yourself to what you can encounter during your race/s! So adding a hills-specific session (or two) can help you attain better performance in your longer running races!
Considerations for completing hill sessions:
As outlined above, hill sessions certainly can be beneficial. However, like any session implemented, some considerations need to be accounted for before getting them done. Here are some that I look for when prescribing hills sessions:
Incline
When I look for a hill to complete my session at, the first thing I like to consider is how steep is the hill. This will determine the other variables of your training session, like how long each repetition is going to be, or the recovery you want between reps & sets. Generally, the steeper the hill the longer it will take and harder it will be!
In Sydney, however, there are multiple parks and spaces where you can find a hill and get your session done, with multiple inclines available. A couple of hills might even be around the corner! Once you have figured out your incline/elevation gain, then you can start thinking about the other considerations:
Distance, time, and pace?
After you have figured out how steep you want your hill to be, the next step is designing your session. A hills training session can have many variables, but I believe the biggest choice you’ll need to make is deciding whether to do your session by distance or by time (with respect to an intended pace).
My recommendation is that if you are running quicker than your 3km pace, keep your distance the 400m or less, or timed runs for less than 90 seconds. If you are running slower than 3k pace, then I recommend you run for longer distances or duration.
When is it best to add hills into your training?
I think there is no point in adding hills for the sake of doing hills. There must always be a purpose behind the training session you aim to complete.
So the question you’d ask yourself is: when is the best time to do some hills sessions?
I believe the answer depends on what you want out of your training. If you are looking to get faster, completing these in preparation for your upcoming track season would be ideal. If you are looking for general fitness and/or preparation for longer races, it may be a good idea to add in some hills into your longer runs or as a stand-alone session, ideally around cross-country or transition phases of competition.
Fatigue & eccentric loading on downhills
The last, but not least, consideration to look out for when doing some hills sessions is the total loading (in particular, eccentric loading) that participants endure whilst undertaking a hills-orientated session. This occurs more when running down hills (Cheung, Hume & Maxwell, 2003), so this can easily be monitored through walk recovery. However, if you are looking to prescribe more active forms of recovery (e.g., jog) then you (or your athletes) might find more reported DOMS in the day/s following the session.
Examples of some hills sessions:
When I think of a hills session, the Sisyphus Hills session comes to mind! In Greek Mythology, Sisyphus was cursed to roll a ball up a hill, only for it to roll back down to the bottom and for him to try again. This session, although it does have an end, works similarly!
Run the session as follows:
30-second run up the hill at 5k pace (jog recovery)
60-second run up the hill at 5k pace (jog recovery)
90-second run up the hill at 5k pace (jog recovery)
2-minute run up the hill at 5k pace (walk recovery back to the start)
Repeat 2-3 times
If you are looking for another quicker session, look at this example below:
5 x 20” hill accelerating to 3k pace (1 minute jog recovery)
1 x 400m at 1500m pace (1-minute recovery)
3 x 150 at 800m pace (1 minute between reps, 4-5 minutes recovery between sets)
Repeat 2-3x
This session has a mix of varying paces, starting with some faster work, and as each set progresses the intensity drops and the duration of each rep increases.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, hills training has some benefits that you might need to target or improve to further your running, including biomechanics, cadence and fitness. However, you must consider how steep the hill is, how long (distance & time) & pace you aim to run your repetitions in, what time in the training year you complete these reps and the potential fatigue & eccentric loading that comes from hills sessions.
Yours on the field, on the track & in the gym,
Paul
Head Coach & Owner
References:
Cheung, K., Hume, P. A., & Maxwell, L. (2003). Delayed onset muscle soreness. Sports medicine, 33(2), 145-164.
Fitzgerald, J. (2022). Should You Lean Forward When You Run? Outside Running. https://www.outsideonline.com/running/training/running-101/should-you-lean-forward-when-you-run/
GeeksonFeet, (2022). Optimal Forward Lean for Better Running. Geeks On Feet. https://geeksonfeet.com/run/forward-lean/
Pizzuto, F., De Oliveira, C. F., Soares, T. S. A., Rago, V., Silva, G., & Oliveira, J. (2019). Relationship between running economy and kinematic parameters in long-distance runners. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 33(7), 1921-1928.
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