Running Uphill

bstamps12

Obviously, running uphill will get better with practice. But what is the proper posture and running style for running uphill? I am not talking slopes, I'm taking steep hills from .25 mi to 1 mi long on pavement on a mountain. Is it better to lean forward or try to stay straight upright? Should I try to keep a long stride or go to short quick strides? Any help would be appreciated!

Angela4Health

bump

NAMsMommy

I have no idea. I am going to look and see what I can find. I use runnersworld often for info...

LaraeTX

I'm no pro, but have done a lot of readking. The thing I read and remembered when I was running uphills and found truly works, is to swings your arms more. I found that by doing that, I actually got up the hills faster. It also helped me to concentrate on that, instead of the hill itself. I have to admit, hills are my favorite part of training I have also heard, leaning slightlly forward is best, even on the downside. If you lean back or straight up on the down slope, it will actually "put the brakes on".

hnsaunde

I'm no expert, but when I take hills, I lean forward slightly and do the short quick strides and really focus on pumping my arms. Hope that helps!

NAMsMommy

Here is a video on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu2qocvfCzE)
And a Spark article (http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=823)

bstamps12

Thanks everyone! Keep the input coming!

rybo

Don't lean too far into the hill, keep your gaze up & at the top, or at least forward some.

Don't try to overstride. Your stride should get a little shorter when you hit a hill.

Keep your arms pumping hard.


I have to go out of my way NOT to run hills, so I am very used to running them. They will make you stronger and more efficient as a runner.

AndreaWyland

Great info!!! So another part of this question ( I too cannot get away form the hills, there are very few trails around here without them, havent seen any actually) is my hr sky rockets on hills, I can get up them but by the time Im up (some of the trails I do the hills are endless and long and unforgiving) my hr is way high and I cant breath. Lately Ive been noticing, maybe IM doing more or taking them faster or... but I literally cannot breath and I have to stop and walk until I catch my breath... ideas? Advice?

RunRideRay

Yeah...hills!!!

rybo and hnsaunde have some good advice, look up the hill, slight slant forward, short strides and grind up. I'll season that age-old advice with a couple more things.

Hill training
As ajanae is discovering, they are work, but....work is good. Hills provide a great balance of strength and cardio. A technique for training is to run hills a bit harder on the up, and recover on the down, even if it takes 10-20 seconds of walking to catch some wind. This provides active recovery and cycling the HR, you'll notice a boost in both cardio capacity and pure horsepower to get up. It's not necessary on every hill, but as a training technique it will make a big difference.

Don't be afraid to walk some of them during a long run, I do this a lot in marathons and long runs. I would rather get to the top refreshed and not cardiac arrest.

Keep going forward

Ray

ilsie99

Great info!!! So another part of this question ( I too cannot get away form the hills, there are very few trails around here without them, havent seen any actually) is my hr sky rockets on hills, I can get up them but by the time Im up (some of the trails I do the hills are endless and long and unforgiving) my hr is way high and I cant breath. Lately Ive been noticing, maybe IM doing more or taking them faster or... but I literally cannot breath and I have to stop and walk until I catch my breath... ideas? Advice?

No real surprise here. If you're running it so hard that you have to stop when you reach the top, then slow down. It's fine for your HR to jump on a hill because it should average out when you go downhill, but if you have to stop then you are taking it too fast.

This is, of course, assuming that you want to keep your HR in some specific range.

If you dont, then keep running that hill at the same pace! With time, you will crest it and just keep on cruising.

ilsie99

As an addendum... there are many, many elite ultra and trail runners who will walk a steep hill and then make up time by rocketing down the other side.

Not that I am suggesting you do this Merely stating that it really all depends on what you want to accomplish.

lipglossjunky73

I am planning on doing a very hilly 10K in the fall (it's known for being a tough 10K) so i will have ot revisit this thread when the time comes!!!

johnwhitent

I'm no expert, but when I take hills, I lean forward slightly and do the short quick strides and really focus on pumping my arms. Hope that helps!

Just read an article in Runners World that recommends exactly this.

Legs_McGee

My town is built on the side of a hill, nestled into some mountains...not a lot of flat surfaces around here either. There's one hill in particular that we try to tackle once a week - it ascends about 500 feet over 0.6 miles. I still can't run the whole hill without stopping and catching my breath in between blocks. Someday I'll kick its *kitten*.

There's a local running / training program that tells its trainees that it's better to walk big hills during races *IF* you're going to be totally wiped out at the top if you try to run it. That you'll actually have a better time if you walk the hill so you can resume your regular pace at the top rather than try to run it and then take a long time at the top to recover. Of course, you gotta run the hills for training though!