Running up that hill

Up Jenkins Hill

For those of you who know the lakes and the Keswick area in particular, the trial saw the runners start in Fitz Park, run up Latrigg and then onwards and upwards up Jenkins Hill to the top of Skiddaw. There were three races in all, but the junior men and the senior ladies ran in the same race and then the results were split at the end. The Under 20 women raced over 3.8k and climbed 395m. They finished half way up Jenkins Hill. The Under 20 men and the women ran 8.9k and climbed 900m and finished at the top of Skiddaw and the senior men ran 12.2k and climbed 1100m. In order to make up the distance they had to do an extra lap around Latrigg that brings in a bit of downhill running midway through the race and then climbed to the top of Skiddaw. Have you ever tried to get going again uphill after running hard down?! It's not easy!!

Mountain running is tough and the runners who did these trials are made of something special. The winners were:

Under 20 women - Scout Adkin from Moorfoot Runners who got to the top in 22 minutes and 26 seconds

Under 20 men - Garry Rankin from Kilbarchan AC who got to the top in 52 minutes and 34 minutes

Senior women - Victoria Wilkinson from Bingley who got to the top in 55 minutes and 42 seconds

Senior men - Steve Vernon from Stockport AC, who, by the way, is the English National Cross Country Champion, and got to the top in 55 minutes and 3 seconds

So how do these runners train to get to the top of these climbs in those sort of times? Many of the runners who raced at the trial recently attended a training camp with Jonathan Wyatt who is arguably the best mountain runner in the world. He has won the World Championships six times but only one of those times was on a course that went up and down. The others were all uphill only. He is particularly good at running up hills. Apparently he grew up, in New Zealand, in a house that was on the top of a hill so he was used to climbing hills! He admitted, on the camp, that he finds changing pace hard and so he targeted the uphill only races apart from in 2005 when the World Trophy was on his doorstep in New Zealand.

Jonathan came from a road running background and he told the group that, as a mountain running novice, he didn't know how to train for the mountains so he would take his road sessions and replicate them on the hills. For example, one of his staple sessions was a 30 minute tempo run on the flat and so he would run 30 minutes tempo uphill and this helped him to be establish a good rhythm and to be consistent in uphill races where there is no chance to rest. Another example was converting 8 X 3 minutes with a 2 minute float. (He emphasised that the float is not an easy recovery. It is still quick running but less intense than the pace of the effort.) To replicate this on the mountains he would run 8 X 3 minutes hard up a 1:10 hill and then continue running uphill less hard for 1 minute before turning round and running down for one minute before the next uphill effort.

It is interesting to know some of his best mountain running results came when he wasn't totally focused on the mountains. During these seasons he would do his hard training sessions on the flat but his easy runs up and down the hills. In 2004 he wanted to do the Olympic marathon and so his training and racing programme was working towards that goal. Although he had targeted specific road races for the build up he would still run mountain races, as training sessions on the non-racing weeks. The emphasis would not be on racing them but using them as a session. He ran the Olympic marathon and six days later successfully defended his World Uphill Mountain Running title!

Are you running on hills as part of your training? The late Arthur Lydiard was also from New Zealand. His coaching methods have been adopted by runners from all over the world and at all levels of fitness and ability. He put together blocks of training for his runners to develop the different components of fitness by focusing on one at a time. First he would develop their endurance or stamina by gradually building mileage and volume. They would then move onto hill work to add strength and develop strength endurance. Once this block was done they would add in speed work to develop speed endurance.

Where are you up to with your training? Do you feel like you have developed a good aerobic base, that is, good stamina and endurance? If so, this time of year is a good time to bring in the hills. With the light nights and the mid-week trail and fell races you could substitute your tempo run for a hilly race that will make you strong. Running uphill is also good for technique as you have to lift your knee and drive forwards with each step.

Check out the Fell Runners Association website for their calendar of fell races but before you sign up for one be sure that you have checked out the category and go for an easy CS (Category C Short distance) to begin with. If you haven't done any fell running before you may be shocked out the level of difficulty so break yourself in gradually. Alternatively start your off-road running with a Trail Race. Trail Races are normally less rough than fell races as they tend to be run on well used footpaths with easier climbs and descents.

The Categories for fell races are as follows:

Ascent categories

Category A - most difficult

at least 250 ft (76m) of ascent per mile (1.6k)

shouldn't have more than 20% of the race distance on the road

should be at least one mile in length

Category B

at least 125ft (38m) of ascent per mile (1.6k)

should not have more than 30% of the race on the road

Category C- easiest

at least 100ft (30.4m) of ascent per mile (1.6k)

should not have more than 40% of the race distance on the road

should contain some genuine fell terrain

Distance Categories

Category L

Long - over 12 miles (19.3k)

Category M

Medium - over 6 miles (9.6k)

Category S

Short - less than 6 miles (9.6k)