Ask the coach: Do you think hill training is important for a planned flat marathon course?

Do you think hill training is important for a planned flat marathon course?

Tina

Running coach answer: Do you think hill training is important for a planned flat marathon course?

Mike Gratton:

I recommend hill training as part of a marathon buildup, not just if there may be hills in the proposed marathon but because they are a good place to develop leg strength before introducing faster interval running to your programme – usually 10 to 8 weeks out from the race.

Of course, if you know your marathon is going to be hilly, for example, the New York City Marathon, or has hills at a certain location on the route, as with Heartbreak Hill at 16 miles of the Boston Marathon, you should ensure you run hills, probably run a hilly route in your longer runs or do tempo runs on an undulating route. Or both.

Interestingly, and slightly related. I once had the pleasure of sitting opposite John Tracey of Ireland at a pre-race dinner in Paris. As well as taking the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Marathon, John had won the World Cross Country twice, each time on very muddy routes. I assumed that he trained for the likely muddy conditions of the courses, but he said no, he always trained on the road as he could run faster there than training in the mud. He was a natural mud-runner. I remember a runner from Holland winning the 600m altitude gain (over 11km) on the Cyprus Challenge hill race. Some people are naturally strong on hills.

There are some things you can prepare for acclimatisation to hot weather and acclimatisation to altitude. There are some things you should just do as they are good for your physiology – hill running comes into that bracket.

Download your beginner’s marathon training plan today.

Have a running training question? Ask Mike for free, and we’ll share the answer online for everyone to benefit! Send your question over to us today.

Join our mailing list to stay up to date with the latest UK running events, training tips, and exclusive offers on running products. Rest assured, we value your privacy and would never dream of selling your address. Sign up now…