But hills are good for you and they’re good for your running. Training on hills improves leg muscle strength, quickens your stride, expands stride length, develops your cardiovascular system, enhances your running economy and can even protect your leg muscles against soreness. In short, hill running will make you a stronger, faster and healthier runner. What’s more, in as little as six weeks of regular hill training you can expect a significant improvement in your muscle power and speed.
Runners today increasingly understand the importance of combining strength work with regular running. It strengthens tendons and ligaments, reduces the risk of injury and improves overall running form. On uphill sections your muscles contract more powerfully than usual because they are forced to overcome gravity to move you up the hill. The result is more power, which in turn leads to longer, faster running strides.
Going up, is the moment runners dread the most. You turn the corner and right in front of you is an imposing hill. Instead of dreading, focus. As you start uphill, shorten your stride. You’re aiming for equal effort going up as well as down, not equal pace. Your posture should be upright — don’t lean forward or back. Your head, shoulders and back should form a straight line over the feet. Keep your feet low to the ground. In a race, or when you’re training on a hilly course, run through the top of the hill. Don’t crest the hill and immediately slow down or pull back on your effort.
Accelerate gradually into the downhill. Most runners make one or two obvious mistakes when running down hill. They either sprint, which causes severe muscle soreness later on, or they’re so hesitant they begin braking, which fatigues the quadriceps muscles. The optimum pace is somewhere in between while letting the hill do the work. Try to keep an upright body posture and your torso perpendicular to the horizontal. This makes the hill do the work, saving energy.
Remember, the key to efficient downhill running is to stay in control. When you start, keep your stride slightly shortened and let your turnover increase. When you feel in control, gradually lengthen your stride. If you start to run out of control when descending, shorten your stride until you feel you are back in control again. And just remember, what goes up, comes down.
John Rogers is the owner of Maine Running Company on Forest Ave. in Portland. Send questions or comments to him at jr@mainerunning.com or check out the store’s website at www.mainerunning.com.