Training — Repeats

One of the most important things to consider when putting together (or looking for) a training plan is including a variety of runs. Since American exercise scientist Stephen Seiler found that “elite endurance athletes perform 80% or more of their training at intensities clearly below their lactate threshold”, he determined that following the 80/20 rule was the best way to train for an endurance event. That means 80% of your runs should be easier and 20% of your runs should be more challenging: speedwork, intervals, hills, etc.

Interval...

Hill repeats are a workout that can make you a stronger runner, from your legs to your lungs. And maybe you’ve done some yourself - run up the steepest hill you can find for a few seconds, jog your way back down, and repeat. But there are a few different ways to do hill repeats, depending on your goals.

1. Short repeats

This is exactly what we mention above: run uphill for anywhere from 10-30 seconds, with a set jog or rest in between. Most people run...

We hear it all the time - want to get stronger legs? Run hills! Want to get faster? Run hills! If you’re running a race in the mountains or in a hilly city, then of course you want to train on them to be prepared. But how much benefit does the average runner get from huffing it up and down that overpass? Turns out, quite a bit.

Hill repeats are basically running uphill for a set amount of time and then having a set recovery time to jog back down. They are great for supporting...