Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 58, May 2014 | Page 26

Training

Taking on
Runners are always on the lookout for a magic wand, that
magical session that’s going to grant us that elusive PB,
but one way of chasing down that goal is by including hill
training in your programme. It can be beneficial to your
strength, endurance and speed. – BY RAY ORCHISON

H

ill training is a session which includes a
number of short repetitions run up or down a
specific hill or section of a hill. A typical hill session
would start with an easy 15 to 20-minute warmup jog, and once your body is properly warm, you
would run 100m up the hill at a fast pace before
turning around and jogging very slowly back to
your starting position, and then repeating this
process a number of times. Your session would
end with an easy cool-down run back home or
to the club. It is hard work, but a fairly simple
concept, and you will reap the running benefits:
1. Strength: One of the primary purposes of hill
training is to develop strength and power, which
are the foundation to developing speed. The
length of the hill should be kept short (a maximum
of 180m). Longer than this and you’re no longer
achieving the purpose of the strength session, so
look for a steeper hill instead of a longer hill. An
example would be sprinting up the hill 15 to 20
times for 20 seconds, with a slow jog or walk back
to the bottom. Your focus will be on a high kneelift and a strong drive with the push-off leg.
2. Endurance: A second purpose of hill training
is to build endurance. This type of session would
typically be done on a gradual or a moderately
steep hill with the length of the repeat between
300m and 600m. In most cases, 300m is more
than adequate for building up your form. However,
for someone training for a 100km mountain trail
run, a few sessions consisting of 600m hill repeats
might better meet their needs.

THE HILLS ARE CALLING
Hill training is a great way to build your
muscles before introducing track work into your
schedule. If you’re new to running or you’ve
never done track work, then heading straight
to the track is potentially an injury waiting to
happen. You must develop some base strength
and speed first from the hills. So if you’re looking
to get faster, start by including one hill session
per week for six weeks before starting on the
track.
For an ‘Up’ Comrades, include a few endurance
sets and one or two eccentric hill sessions. For
races where you want to push times and go for
that