Uphill Techniques

manxape

Barefooters
Jul 16, 2014
7
14
3
Isle of Man
So did my first 10k obstacle course in which the first 5k was an uphill fell “run” before hitting any of the major obstacles. Using rise / run to calculate the gradient of the first hill (about the first 1km) it was about 34% or a 1 in 2.8ish.

So my question is there any possible technique that could get me up that hill running or is power hiking the only answer? I have to be honest given the steepness of the hill I struggled to even powerhike because I couldn’t put my heel anywhere near the floor and my calves felt like they were filled with barb wire (I was wearing vivo trail freak which btw are perfect for the downhills and mud run section).

I loved the downhill section and simply flew down them but I just couldn't manage the uphill section (even when it wasn’t as steep). What techniques do you guys employ that could get me loving those uphills as much as the down?
 
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Mr. Manx, I'm afraid that there's nothing for it but practice, practice, practice.

The people who are real competitors in the technical trail races I've run go up those damn hills faster than I can run. Period.

When I was doing more of that kind of running I had one run that I would do loops on that had a 4oo yard switch back stretch that went up 265 feet.

There are also exercises to build strength in your glutes, hip flexors and quads that I'm sure others can describe better than I will. I know that my strength was best when I was doing a couple sets of "100 Up" every morning in conjunction with the concentrated trail practice.

Cheers!
 
I live on an island which is basically all hills so I guess I'll have to suck it up and run up them! I have a year to train for the next event so I'll just have to dedicate one of my runs each week to hill training. I'll see if I can find a nice steep hill without the loose slate trails that are so common around here so I can have a go unshod. Thanks!
 
I always break a new hill down into manageable chunks, i'll run say a quarter of the hill until i'm comfortable with it and work from there adding a bit every run until i finally conquer it. Look out for natural markers that you can set as goals so you can judge your progress.
I'm running hills now that i found hard to walk up a few years ago, and personally enjoy running hills more than anything else.
Also most hill tend to get steeper towards the summit so make sure you pace yourself on the lower levels and leave plenty in reserve or the lactic will get you.
 
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Mr. Manx, I'm afraid that there's nothing for it but practice, practice, practice...There are also exercises to build strength in your glutes, hip flexors and quads that I'm sure others can describe better than I will. I know that my strength was best when I was doing a couple sets of "100 Up" every morning in conjunction with the concentrated trail practice.


I second this.

I'll add something from my experience. It may or may not for you. On an asphalt or concrete hill I continue to lift my feet like I would on flat land. If I push off at all, I'd get major blisters. When off-road, whether barefoot or with trail shoes, I still lift my feet instead of pushing off. For me it seems to give me a little more stamina up a big hill.
 
Hilly runs are great and its good for your all around running skills. On the steeper hills I walk if my speed slows down to the 14 - 15 min/mile pace otherwise shorten your stride down like using lower gears you will get used to it after a while.
 
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I think that in general, one runs more hills to get better at hills.

One of the routes I run by my house has 2 pretty steep hills. Each time I hit them, they either get just a little bit easier or I manage to get up/down them just a little bit quicker. As Manx said - it just takes practice.

I find that for going up them, I use more of a mid/flat foot landing, using as much of the bottoms of my feet to grip as I can. I also increase my cadence and shorten my stride length, using the "Lower Gears" approach mokaman mentioned, which helps me maintain a decent pace when going up them.

Doing these hills has helped my endurance and pace on more flat terrain and also seems to be helping improve the Piraformis/IT band issues I've been dealing with.
 
I will also say the only technique for uphill running is to practice on them. I live in a hilly area and have no choice but to run uphills, I enjoy them. My strongest part of being a runner is uphill running, that just from the conditioning of running uphills all the time. I mostly smoke people going up hill at races, but they always catch up and pass me on the straightaways:)
 
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There is a mountain I run every week that is about 2 kilometers of that steep of a gradient.

The first thing is to keep the same 180 bmp cadence you keep on the flats, but take MUCH shorter steps.

On the very steepest sections I think my stride length is certainly less than 12 inches lol...but I keep the 180 + bmp no matter what, cause I am using tendon springiness and not as much muscle activation to get up the hill.

The second thing is to push the hips forward, cause its easy to bend at the hip on those steep hills, which throws you back into a more muscle versus tendon drive up the hill...and when you create more exertion for the muscles versus the tendons, you need more Oxygen or Lactic Acid.

The third thing is repeats....frequently going up hills with good form, makes it easier to go up with good form :)



Shorten your stride, ALOT, increase your cadence, keep your hips forward.
 
Hmm... visiting the wife's family in the Appalachia. Jogged around their neighborhood for a few miles of hills. Felt okay, for someone who has never done "hill" training and lives in flat Florida. I really think that doing stairmaster for daily for months at a time has helped, even though that was several years ago. Though, maybe my recent 60lb weight vest training has helped, too. So many variables! :D
 
There is a mountain I run every week that is about 2 kilometers of that steep of a gradient.

The first thing is to keep the same 180 bmp cadence you keep on the flats, but take MUCH shorter steps.
....
The second thing is to push the hips forward, cause its easy to bend at the hip on those steep hills, which throws you back into a more muscle versus tendon drive up the hill...and when you create more exertion for the muscles versus the tendons, you need more Oxygen or Lactic Acid.
...
The third thing is repeats....frequently going up hills with good form, makes it easier to go up with good form :)

... and relax, relax, relax, the calves - let your heels touch the ground if you can (this may also take practice to develop enough flexibility). As Steve said, we want to use the elasticity in our muscles and tendons, rather than trying to power up the hills. Keeping the hips forward (not bending forward at the hips) is REALLY IMPORTANT because otherwise the elastic push merely pushes our butt up into the air. This may seem easier at the beginning of our step, but then at some point we still need to raise our upper body, resulting in a lot of unnecessary work from back muscles.

No matter the terrain, it's almost always the same basics as running on flats (vertical torso, bent knees, lift the feet - don't push). Problem is that many people aren't using the basics correctly on the flats. That's why a variety of terrains helps us, not only on each of those specific terrains, but they help us improve our basic technique.

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