Boston Marathon Prep - Hills - kofuzi

Aug 13, 2025

Intro: This is a quick summary of Boston Marathon Prep - Hills from the Kofuzi YouTube channel. It’s a great watch — we’re breaking it down so you can try the hill workout today. Be sure to check out the full video for all the details.

Key Points:

Use a long, rolling loop (≈4.5 mi with a few hundred feet of gain) for easy runs and marathon‑pace hill work.
For a more intense stimulus, find a bigger hill (≈0.43 mi long with ~90 ft elevation gain) and do threshold‑to‑VO₂‑max effort hill intervals.
Aim for an even effort on the uphill, letting the downhill recover you; don’t chase exact pace, just keep the effort steady.
Mentally, after a few reps the panic subsides – focus on efficient, powerful running rather than “surviving.”
The Newton Hills in Boston are similar in length and gain to this hill; training on comparable hills prepares you mentally and physically.

Workout Example:

Warm‑up on the flat portion of the loop (10‑15 min easy jog).
Hill interval: run 0.43 mi (≈0.7 km) hill with ~90 ft (27 m) elevation gain at a hard effort (roughly threshold/VO₂‑max). Aim for ~3 min per repeat.
Recover jog back down the hill (or easy jog) for 2‑3 minutes.
Repeat 7 times (or as many reps as time allows). Adjust the number of repeats to fit your schedule.
Cool‑down 10 min easy jog.

Closing Note: Give this hill‑interval session a try and tweak the paces in the Pacing app to match your own thresholds. You’ll be stronger, faster, and mentally ready for Boston’s Newton Hills—go get it!