by Coach John Flynn
The wisest words I ever learned about hills came from my very first Legger Mentor, Rosa Thweatt. I remember the first time she took our group up Temescal—she gave us this great mantra: “Hills are my friends — they make me stronger!”
Our target race, the L.A. Marathon, is full of hills. People think that if you start up at Dodger Stadium it’s all downhill to West Los Angeles. Nope! We need our hill training to handle the many climbs that L.A. puts in our path.
The good news is that hills are more of a technical challenge than you might think. If you climb them correctly, you’ll feel good at the top. Even better, hills go up — but they also come down. That downhill feels amazing (think of heading down Marguerita the last couple of weeks), and you can even make up time — if you went up the hill correctly.
So how do you get up a big hill? The first thing to do is adjust your attitude. I like to tell people: “Put it in Second Gear.”
That means adjusting your pacing and your approach. In fact, don’t “attack” the hill — this isn’t about gutting it out. Your goal is to reach the top feeling like you didn’t just charge up a mountain. “Second Gear” means slowing slightly and maintaining a consistent effort, similar to your effort on flat ground. Your heart rate should feel about the same.
That’s the Golden Rule of Hills: Maintain a consistent effort.
There are a few things you can do to help with that:
– Avoid hunching over. Many runners bend from the waist and stare at the ground—that’s misery. Instead, run tall, drop your shoulders, and swing your arms. (Same goes for walking: Walk tall!)
– Lean forward slightly from the hips, not the waist. This keeps your back straight and your breathing easy.
– Breathe deep. You should feel it in your belly, not just the top of your chest.
– Look ahead, not down. On a busy street like San Vicente, awareness is key.
– Swing your arms straight back and forth (not across your body). It keeps your shoulders loose and helps your breathing.
– Shorten your stride. Smaller steps help you stay in the right gear and prevent over-striding.
– Stay on your toes, not your heels. The front of your foot should meet the hill—this gives you spring and forward momentum.
– Above all, maintain a consistent effort. Don’t chase pace—let it drop a minute or two per mile if needed. Keep breathing and stay tall!
If you’d like to see what all this looks like, check out this terrific short video from Global Triathlon Network:
🎥 How to Run Hills – Global Triathlon Network
