Hills, any tips?

[JudeA]

I have just completed w4. On the whole it is getting better/easier but I really struggle with hills. Any tips? Thanks in advance.

[Now-runner_NeedsAttn Graduate]

I can offer nothing but the simple advice of slow down, put one foot in front of the other until you reach the top.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Err......you just go up them

I know.. silly.. but slow and steady is the way! You just take it one step at a time...

They are everywhere..hills where you thought there were none.. they even appear magically overnight!

Supposedly, someone once posted, they are character building.. a bit like the UK weather

You do get used to them, you may never learn to love them, but they do get easier, as you get stronger..

Links and advice everywhere..

runnersconnect.net/running-...

I just started slow, kept slow and still run up them slowly... works for me

Well done you too.. Week 5, here you come

[Irish-John Graduate]

Try and keep the same pace but MUCH shorter steps It may feel like you are running in place at times - but it ready helped me and they do get easier with time.

My hat is off to you - I avoided hills until post-graduation. You are doing better at this stage than I was

[Rosie958 Graduate]

Definitely agree about the slow and steady, also, make sure you are using your arms as well when you're running up the hills, this will help increase your momentum.

Well done, you're doing great

[davelinks Graduate]

The most critical element is that you keep your chest up and open. The most common advice you might have received is to “lean into the hill”. Unfortunately, this causes many runners to hunch at the waist to lean forward. This constricts your airway and makes it harder to breathe deeply. You do need to lean forward, but make sure you lean at the hips, not the waist.

Keep your head and eyes up, shoulders back chest out, looking about 30 meters in front of you.Dropping your head restricts how much oxygen you can take in and will cause you to slouch. Likewise, drive your arms straight forward and back and use them as pistons. Your arms should form a 90-degree angle at the elbow, and swing straight back and forth, not across your body. Pump your arms and your legs should follow what your arms are doing...

Plantar flex (point your toes towards the ground) at the ankle. Think of yourself exploding off your ankle and using that last bit of power to propel you up the hill with minimal energy expenditure. Focusing on plantar flexion can save you a lot of energy and really help you get up the hill faster and with less energy.should follow..

Focus on driving your knee off the hill, not into the hill like you might do if you maintained your normal knee drive. Work on landing on the ball of your foot to spring up the hill, avoid getting up on your toes though, keep too much undue pressure off the toes.

Just be careful with the power you may try and put in to get up the hill, you could feel calves getting sore, your a new runner still, so take it easy, don't overdo it walk if you have to..You will feel them get easier it just takes a bit of time to build stamina and get used to them, like anything, practice makes perfect, when you can get up them easier you'll be well pleased.. 😊

[jo4t15 Graduate]

Walk up, run down!

Seriously, I live in a village in a vallley with hills going up to get anywhere at all. In my first C25k weeks I would run for my minute or however long. If the hill got too much for me, I'd turn around and run back from where I'd come from and then turn around and walk up in the walking break. It was a bit two steps forward, one step back but meant I finished the programme. After a few weeks I could certainly run further up the hills. The go slow advice is also essential! As time went on I could tackle all three hills and still do, regularly. I named them the hill of doom (long and steady incline) , the hill of death ( really steep) and tree hill and choose which way to go depending on how I feel on any given day.

Be kind to yourself and give it time. There are technical approaches (see above) but keep practicing! Happy running.

[misswobble Graduate]

Yeah don't do em 😀 Save them for your post graduate days. They can be demoralising for you.

They will still be there waiting for you 😀

Don't get me wrong, they are good for building legs and core strength but they are very hard and can be off putting.

[JudeA]

Thanks for all the advice. Really helpful. I do try to minimise the number of hills on my runs but it is not possible to avoid them completely where I live. I will try some of the tips today. The trouble is if I have to walk I feel that I have failed, so may be changing my routes may help for a while. Thanks again.

[Gillysmith]

Hi, do tiny steps up hills then easy to get going again once it levels out and use your arms to help too. Good luck.

[melly4012 Graduate]

No advice I'm afraid (luckily it's very flat where I live) but amazing work completing C25k with hills. There'll be no stopping you on graduation! Just imagine how easy running on flat terrain will be for you.