Everything looks better from the top!  Use hills to increase speed and add strength training to your cardio routine.

When you run uphill, you are performing a type of resistance training using your own body weight. In other words, your muscles need to work twice as hard to keep as they would on a flat surface at the same pace.  It is important to focus on smooth, quick strides to improve your cadence.  To do this, pump your arms forward and back, not side to side, and maintain a straight posture - if you lean forward you will be fighting gravity.

Another important part of hill training is maintaining your stride, try to use a pace slightly slower than you would keep if you were running a 10K.  If you follow the guidelines above, you will strengthen your leg muscles and increase performance.  Remind yourself of this before you say no to that route with the dreaded mile uphill – remember, everything looks better from the top!

You can train using short, medium, long or a mix of hills – see the links below for some tips and & routine suggestions for hill workouts:

Brian Mac – Hill Training http://www.brianmac.co.uk/hilltrain.htm

Strength Building Hill Runs – By Rick Morris http://www.runningplanet.com/training/strength-building-hill-runs.html

Runner´s World – Everything You Need To Know About Hill Training http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/general/everything-you-need-to-know-about-hill-training/159.html