So, as for most of us, the snow and ice has totally ruined my running this week – plenty of motivation, but just no way I’d have come away without a broken bone! On Friday night I desperately watched as all my local Parkruns were cancelled – Clair (my local one), Horsham, Crawley, East Grinstead, Preston Park and Eastbourne. However, yesterday’s thaw meant that a run today was definitely on the cards.
I have a very experienced running friend who has long tried to convince me that hills are my friend – and if they’re not, I need to make it so! When I was following C25K I would plan routes that avoided hills and when I first graduated, I would only go to flat Parkruns – my first one being Hove Prom which is the flattest one in the country! Since then, I’ve decided that an extra 30 minutes in bed (which I get if I go to Clair) was preferable to a flat run – I love my sleep!
And, do you know what, I’ve learned to value hills. Of course, going up them is tough and sometimes I do have to walk a bit, but they definitely make a run more interesting – and I do get a bit bored if a run is too samey. The other thing is, it’s pretty much guaranteed that if you run up a hill, sooner or later you’ll run down it too and that downhill run is where you catch your breath, where your legs stretch out and refresh and where, whatever you do, it’s pretty much impossible to stop running. Once you’ve conquered that uphill stretch once, conquering it again becomes easier – because you know that you CAN do it. Of course, we all have off days and if you try and run a long hill first time and can’t manage it, don’t ever think you’ve failed. I still have not managed to run the entirety of Clair Parkrun but I try to walk a little less and run a little more each week. Clair Parkrun, by the way, is one of the most difficult in the country. It’s a horrible 4.5 laps of hilly hell. Hated and avoided by many, I’ve grown to love it for the support and encouragement dished out to those who are crawling up the long, long hill. Don’t be scared of hills – they will make you a stronger runner – just don’t expect to conquer them first time round.
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RebeccaSK
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This is really interesting. Because for all my pride in having got to week 8 (week 8!!!!!!) I still feel a bit of a cheat because I start off on a slight downhill and then flat. And I wonder if I’m cheating. Recently on holiday I had to do a few slight hills and I struggled massively. But my local parkrun has a hill. I’ve not been yet but that’s why I won’t go and do it!
So it’s interesting to note your stance on hills. Maybe I should be braver. 😝
Honestly, I would say graduate and then focus on them. It's tough and you feel like you're taking a step back when you do start trying to do them because you can't run them without stopping. If you're anything like me, after you graduate you really miss the structure of the programme. Maybe you could focus on hills then?
Hills are great for building leg strength which can correspond to faster times. I'm a weirdo who enjoys running up hills 😜. Sandyscroll shared a technique a while back on the bridge to 10k forum that her running club taught her called a backstitch. This is where you run part way up the hill, back down to the bottom then back up the hill past the previous point ran to and back down, repeating it until you reach the top. Obviously it isn't something you'll do during parkrun, but if you have a tough hill you want to conquer, maybe this will help. We've been too icy this winter but I've got a few very challenging hills that I'm looking forward to conquering this summer and plan to try this.
I've done that exercise at my running club - although we don't call it a backstitch! For me the biggest running obstacle is my mind - this is a great exercise for that.
Hills just amazing. If you wish google Dragon’s Back ultra marathon 200 mile across the Welsh mountains unbelievable. Enjoy your hills and running down them.👏👏
Can remember running down Ben Nevis tourist path 50 years ago, 3 times a week, thought I could fly.😂😂😂
Great post you... good to have you back on the forum
Hills.. we embrace them... like the weather.. character building I was told... I don't mind them now... just part of it... and if I get tired.. I run backwards for a while
Yes... not for long, short bursts...just to ease the muscles..and it does help build quad strength.. It has its risks.. and you choose when to do it carefully
Thankyou for your motivating post! I definitely ‘fear hills’!! I grew up in Wales so was no stranger to a steep incline...fast forward 25 years and living in middle England hills aren’t such a part of my life! I can walk/run a decent distance but throw an incline in and I’m done for in minutes! It’s my goal to be able to do a hilly trail race one day and your motivating post has given me hope!💪🏻🏃♀️
Ascending and descending using same technique, short quick steps well under you hips and in a constantly short traversing alternating and changing direction and trying not to stop when ascending, a bit like the C25k programme for building stamina, slow down but do not stop.👍👏👏
Not sure, but what I have seen in Dragon’s Back that seems to be still around.I think you can see this fell/ mountain peak champions form on the web. He is a Scot that lives in Yorkshire.🤔
Cannot believe they actually run across the Crib Goch Aerete, standing upright on their two feet.What strength and balance.Takes most of us all of our time to traverse this on all fours.😂😂😂
Thank you Mimirossi ! Things are still not great but finally (after 15 weeks) other family members are finally stepping up and I'm finding time to run and post here again! The period when I wasn't able to run was horrible - not because I couldn't run per se but because I missed everything else that goes with it. I have a full on job and that time when I'm running is "my time", when nobody can ask anything of me, when the emails have to wait and when I get to be me and not a Practice Manager, Carer or the one in the family who gets left to deal with everything. I need that desperately for my own wellbeing.
I am so glad that you are getting some time for yourself now. Running is a brilliant way to chill out.
I was just learning to enjoy hills too, but haven’t run since January due to plantar fasciitis. It is very frustrating! I am worried that I will have to start again!
I was out with injury for a couple of months with a brief period of running in the middle. It was hard to get back into it but, actually, the fitness has come back pretty quickly - I was surprised just how quickly - so don't worry too much - you've done it once, you'll do it again!
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Back in my hills Wk8R2
Tried a hilly route tonight!
Gorgeous autumn afternoon for some ‘fun’ hills!
Good news bad news. 
C25k Christmas Eve virtual parkrun and my 100th parkrun
