Pacing the Hills

In trail racing, your success will depend on how well you perform on hills (going both up and down)

ALEX HUTCHINSON ROUNDS UP THE LATEST IN ENDURANCE RESEARCH

To master an epic trail race like the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), you’ve got to master the hills. After all, that’s pretty much all there is. The flagship 171K race includes a total of 9,963 metres of elevation gain—more than Mount Everest—and, since it’s a loop course, it descends by the same amount, with virtually no level ground for respite. Most trail races aren’t that extreme, but they pretty much always have hills, and getting them right can make or break your race. Much of the advice you get about running hills focuses on the technical aspects of getting up or down a single hill: where to place your feet, what to do with your arms, how to lean your body, and so on. But there’s a more holistic consideration that’s…

You're reading a preview of

Canadian Running (Digital) - 1 Issue, Trail Special 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.