10 Hill Running Benefits That Transform Your Marathon - Lee Grantham

Aug 13, 2025

Intro

This is a quick summary of “10 Hill Running Benefits That Transform Your Marathon” from Lee Grantham. It’s a great watch — we’re breaking it down so you can try the workout today. Be sure to check out the full video for all the details.

Key Points

Leg strength & biomechanics – uphill work builds glutes, hamstrings, calves and improves stride power; downhill work conditions quads eccentrically.
Running economy – training on hills teaches your body to recruit muscles more efficiently, making flat‑pace running feel easier.
Aerobic capacity – hill repeats let you hit high heart‑rate zones with far less injury risk than flat speed work.
Downhill technique – learning to control the descent improves cadence, turnover and reduces over‑striding.
Mental toughness – sustained uphill effort (e.g., 20 × 300 m) mimics the fatigue you’ll face in the race’s final third.
Injury reduction – the varied loading of hills strengthens tendons and joints, lowering overall risk.

Workout Example

Hill Interval Session (replace your regular interval day):

Warm‑up 10‑15 min easy jog.
5 × 10 min uphill – find a hill of about 5‑6 % grade and run each 10‑minute repeat at a moderate effort (RPE 6). Keep the pace steady; the effort should feel hard but sustainable.
Turn around at the top and 10 × 5 min downhill – focus on controlled, relaxed descent, letting the legs recover while maintaining good form.
Cool‑down 10 min easy.

If you don’t have a long hill, you can do 6 × 1 km uphill at the same 5‑6 % gradient and immediately jog back down the same distance, or try 20 × 1 min uphill with a short jog back down after each repeat.

Closing Note

Give this hill session a try this week and notice the boost in strength, efficiency, and confidence on your runs. You can easily adjust the gradients and paces in the Pacing app to match your current fitness. Have fun on the hills and keep crushing those marathon goals!