Hill repeat sessions are one of the key workouts in a runner’s training plan. Depending on your level and your goal, you can find them in the RunMotion Coach app. And we get asked this all the time: how do you manage a hill repeats session the right way?
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What are the benefits of hill repeat workouts?
Hill repeats are a complete endurance training session. They build strength, improve your stride mechanics, and boost your cardio fitness. That’s why they’re useful for road runners from 5K to marathon, and for trail runners too, especially those who train in the city and don’t always have access to long climbs.
Here we’re talking about “short” hill repeats, done on a relatively short but intense section. They’re different from “long” uphill efforts lasting several minutes, which are a different type of work often used in trail running training.
If you’re short on time, hill repeats are also a great way to maximize training efficiency: with 15 minutes of warm-up plus 15 minutes of intervals, you can train strength and cardio in a short window. But if you’ve got time and you want to do it properly, the best approach is to follow the protocol below.
The warm-up
Your warm-up should start with an easy jog at a relaxed pace, in easy endurance. The goal is to wake up your muscles and gradually raise your heart rate. Warm up for 15 to 30 minutes. We generally recommend 20 to 25 minutes.
Then you can do a few dynamic stretches and three simple running drills: butt kicks, straight-leg drills, and high knees. You can do them on flat ground. Finish with two short strides of 10 to 15 seconds, ideally on the hill you’ve chosen.
For more details, check out our article on how to warm up before a workout or a race.
How do you choose the right hill?
Sometimes you don’t have many hills to choose from. If you do, the ideal is a hill with a 5% to 10% gradient. It shouldn’t be too steep, not more than 15%, otherwise your running form and stride mechanics start to break down.
To keep it simple, a gentle slope lets you work more on stride, speed, and running economy. A steep hill targets strength and cardio more.
The hill doesn’t need to be long. If your session is 10 x 20 seconds, it just needs to be long enough for a 20-second effort, then you return to the start for each rep. For most runners, an 80 to 100 m hill works well for a 20-second repeat.
What pace should you run on hill repeats?
Depending on the gradient, your GPS pace, especially over short intervals, is not a reliable indicator. Heart rate isn’t ideal either since it can swing a lot between the top of the hill and the restart at the bottom. Even a running power meter is often not responsive enough for very short efforts. For hill repeat workouts, running by feel is essential.
Practically speaking, the effort you choose should allow you to complete the whole session at a steady intensity. It’s simple: at the end of the uphill section, stop and walk back down to your start point. Try to reach roughly the same end point on every repeat.
If there are big gaps between your repeats, it means your pacing wasn’t quite right. No worries, you’ll nail it next time. In any case, even if the session should feel challenging, it shouldn’t leave you completely wrecked. Usually you’ll feel that your legs worked hard, but without a big lactate burn and without that “legs on fire” sensation.
The goal is to run fast while staying relaxed, not in an all-out sprint posture, and to keep a quick cadence. Also think about staying strong through your core, your abs help you keep an efficient stride under fatigue.
Jog or walk back down easily to the start. If you want to stress the cardio system a bit more, try to jog the downhill and restart without walking at the bottom.
You’re going to love these hill repeat sessions. You’ll probably find them in your training plan on RunMotion Coach. Enjoy your training!