My favourite runner's favourite sessions - John Connolly - This Messy Happy

Aug 13, 2025

Intro

This is a quick summary of My favourite runner’s favourite sessions - John Connolly from This Messy Happy. 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

John’s go‑to session is simple, no‑frills hill work – no fancy intervals, just repeated hard climbs.
The focus is on long, sustained efforts up a hill (typically 4‑10 minutes per repeat) to build both aerobic power and mental grit.
You can scale the session by the number of repeats: John has done 20+ reps over a 26‑mile hill loop, but the core idea is “find a hill and keep pounding it.”
Keep the effort hard enough that your heart rate stays elevated, but steady enough to maintain the 4‑10 minute climb without stopping.
Use the session to train the mind as much as the legs – the repetitive nature teaches discipline for ultra‑marathon time‑on‑feet.

Workout Example

Hill‑Graft Session (adjust distance/paces to your own fitness):

Warm‑up: 10‑15 min easy jog on flat ground.
Find a moderate‑grade hill (~5‑8% grade) that you can run up for 4–10 minutes.
Run up the hill at a hard, steady effort (roughly Tempo/Threshold pace – you should be breathing heavy but able to hold the effort for the full time).
Turn around and recover jogging or walking back down (use the descent as active recovery – 2‑3 min).
Repeat 6‑12 times (or more if you’re experienced). Aim for a total hill‑time of 30‑60 minutes.
Cool‑down: 10‑15 min easy jog on flat ground.

Tip: If you don’t have a long hill, break a shorter hill into multiple back‑to‑back repeats, keeping the total uphill time in the target range.

Closing Note

Give John’s hill‑graft a try on your next training day – it’s a powerful way to boost strength, stamina, and mental toughness for those long ultra events. And remember, you can always tweak the length, number of reps, and pace to match your own abilities in the Pacing app. Happy climbing!

Watch the full video for more insights and John’s personal stories about hill training.