UKH

Questions about (mostly off road) uphill running technique

- Running (leaving the ground for each step) uses vastly more energy than walking at slow speeds, it seems. How to judge when to switch between running and walking for best overall speed?
-Once walking, getting running again when the gradient eases is somehow a really big effort. Any advice on how to judge when to do it?

In reply to MG:

From a fell running perspective, I walk when walking is quicker than running. When that is will depend on fitness and steepness of the hill. Check out fell running walking technique. So runners will continue to run even if slower than walking, because they find it easier to speed up again as the hill eases that way.

In reply to MG:

This book is very good (as are the others in the series)

http://www.trailguides.co.uk/prodpage.asp?productid=10

In reply to MG:

It depends on the context. In short efforts I walk when it is faster to do so at a perceived effort I am happy to be able to sustain.
On longer stuff I am more conservative. I tend to use slight inclines to for a swift walk on which I can do all sorts of maintenance: drink, eat, apply vaseline, change top, etc.
The type of footing also plays a roles, as having to change rhythm constantly is really tiring on a run.

In the end, there are no rules. The only way is to practice walking as well as running and experiment.

In reply to MG:

yeah agree with nick.. switch when its faster but starting running again is a pain in the arse. I now like to keep running but almost all trails over here and in europe (alps etc) are much more gradual than hills we approach in typical fell races..

I dont think there is a hard and fast rule, I know some who reckon run for x yards walk for x yards.. I find a long walk really stiffens my back and hamstring so frequent running helps maintain free movement

In reply to MG:

There's an angle, somewhere between 25% & 30% where everyone begins to walk, usually the "fell-runners'" walk of hands on top of knees pressing down on each step. Below that, especially in races, it's whatever you find fastest. With some training (hill reps!!) you soon find that you can run more and more of the uphills. If you know the course then sometimes it's easier to run a steep bit as it's then easier to keep on running when it eases rather than try and break in to a run after walking the steep bit.

In reply to MG:

Thanks all - kind of pleasing others find starting running difficult too!

In reply to Bob:

I've noticed that hands-pushing-down-on-knees thing when I've been up in the Lakes and in Snowdonia. How does it help?

In reply to mbh:

A simple case of additional muscles being employed.

In reply to MG:

It's worth training to walk really quickly. Learn to stay reasonably tall and keep a brisk rhythm rather than just gradually folding up until you're lying on the hill. In my experience, concentrating on using your glutes more than your quads, and on flexing your ankle to get a flat foot where possible, will allow the walking to give your quads and calves a proper rest.

Since (as you pointed out) you do have to walk for long periods on some routes, it makes sense to get good at it. It also creates more overlap between walkable and runnable terrain, so you can vary things more easily according to fatigue, will and the need to take care of eating/drinking etc.

I don't think there is a rule, but the more confident you are that you can move efficiently in both modes, the more you will make choices based on general tactics rather than sheer necessity!

In reply to MG:


Running up hill is effing hard work. This will not change regardless of how fit you are though you will become better at it, you will always find it hard because you go as fast as your body can cope.

In reply to MG:

When I ran hills (too many injuries now), I found it easier to shorten my step as the hill steepened, but kept the same rhythm. This did mean that I sometimes looked as though I was practising to be a chinese lady with bound feet at times, but it did mean that having kept the same rhythm, when the angle eased again I could get back into something approaching a run without too much effort.