Why You Should Run Hill Workouts

A lot of you get hillwork naturally; you just live in a hilly area. Whenever I go to visit folks in Fayetteville, Arkansas and go out for a run, this fact becomes painfully obvious.

But here just south of Houston, the terrain is flat as a pancake. Hence, we have to make due with overpasses, bridges, and elevated treadmills.

This past weekend I covered The Toughest 10K for my Houston Running Fitness Examiner page. It was awesome, but it was obvious that some racers were strangers to hills. The race incorporated 2 passes over the Kemah Bridge. Here's more race pictures.



Why Run Hills, Anyway?

Thanks for asking. The obvious answer is that it makes you stronger. But there's more to it than that. Pounding up hills loads your muscles up with a lot of lactic acid. Gently jogging down the other side trains your legs to eliminate it.

It's also a lot more fun than doing squats at the gym. This will pay off on race day.