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Training for hills where there aren’t any

woman running at mountain stairs

woman running at mountain stairs
Racing a hilly course may not be the best option if you’re looking for a personal best, but often the more scenic routes come with some climbs you’ll have to navigate along the course. Following a regular training program with runs and workouts will get you in shape, but if you live somewhere without many hills, really getting ready for the race can be tough. There are a few options for getting the same benefits as running hills without racing up and down them.

Weights and plyometrics
What makes hills so difficult is that you’re working muscles in your legs that regular running does use as much. Running up a hill works many of the same muscles as squats and plyometric work. Look into adding some weights into your schedule if you’re able to. Even very basic lifts or jumps can offer large benefits. Light squats in the gym or a few squat jumps after a run are a great place to start. Be warned: if these exercises are new you’ll be sore afterwards, so don’t overdo it too early.

Stairs
If you have a long enough set of stairs near you, maybe at a local track or football stadium, running stairs is a similar movement to hills. Try running up quickly and safely jogging back down, doing five to ten runs, depending on the length of the stairs. Jogging back down is also great for mimicking the eccentric contraction you experience running down hills, which can sometimes be as difficult as running uphill when not prepared for it.

Another similar option is to do repeats in parking garages when they aren’t too busy. Start on the bottom level and run the ramps to the top. Jog back down.

Treadmills
Almost all treadmills have a incline setting, meaning, however blasphemous, you can train for hills inside on a treadmill. If you live somewhere flat, this may also be the only way to mimic longer, slow hills within a run.

The treadmill gives you a few options. You can run hill repeats at an incline in the 10 per cent range, or try doing a run alternating between one or two percent and six to eight percent.

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