CTC Hill Sprints

Nearly every running program in the world has a place reserved for hill training. This is one of the common hill workouts that we do at CTC:

Our standard training season is about 26 weeks. We have two of these seasons per year. We do one hill sprint session per week for about 14-15 weeks of each 26 week season. Therefore, we do hill sprints about 30 times per year.

Goal Pace for the Sprint: 400m race pace effort

Type of Hill: Long, steep hill, soft surface preferred, no ankle-busting rocks or holes. We can use pavement as a last resort.

Note: This workout is usually part of a two-a-day workout schedule. We usually couple Hill Sprints with an EASY run 6-10 hours apart from it.

Weekly Plan / Approach

Our plan may look something like this, definitely depending on each athlete’s needs:

Week 1: no hill sprints; very easy week

Week 2-3: 8 second hill sprints. 6 reps, 5 minute walking rest between each sprint. No bounds.

Weeks 4-5: 11 second hill sprints. 6 reps, 5 minute walking rest between each sprint. No bounds.

Weeks 6-7: 13 second hill sprints. 6 reps, 5 minute walking rest between each sprint. No bounds.

Weeks 8-9: 13 second hill sprints. 5 reps, 5 minute walking rest between each sprint. Long Bounds 2 x 10 seconds, High Bounds 2 x 10 seconds.

Weeks 10-11: 16 second hill sprints. 5 reps, 6 minute walking rest between each sprint. Long Bounds 2 x 12 seconds, High Bounds 2 x 12 seconds.

Weeks 12-13: 20 second hill sprints. 5 reps, 6 minute walking rest between each sprint. Long Bounds 2 x 14 seconds, High Bounds 2 x 14 seconds.

Weeks 14-15: 23 second hill sprints. 5 reps, 6 minute walking rest between each sprint. Long Bounds 2 x 18 seconds, High Bounds 2 x 18 seconds.

Week 16: 26 second hill sprints. 5 reps, 6 minute walking rest between each sprint. Long Bounds 2 x 20 seconds, High Bounds 2 x 20 seconds.

This video gives an explanation and video examples that athletes can use to grasp the technique.

Thanks to Dana Mecke for demonstrating the sprint and bounding techniques.

The Workout

Warm-up (35-40 minutes): We do a 2K jog, a Sprinter’s Warm-up, using some of our Pre-race warm-ups, as well as one of our weekly Sprint Drills sessions. Do NOT underestimate the Sprint Drills. This is an important session of our week. Develop quality sprinting skills and mobility and you’ll likely become a better athlete and distance runner. Note: We do a Sprint Drill session 2-3 times per week, most of the year.

Hill Sprints: We follow the list already given above. Again, we have several variations - depending on the athlete’s needs. The list above is a basic template.

Cool Down: 2K jog

Leg day in the Weight Room: This is one of our 2 leg days per week in the weight room. This is our lifting routine.