Mountain Legs Builder
Workout - Mountain Legs Builder
- 10min @ 7'00''/km
- 18.0km @ 6'30''/km
- 10min @ 7'30''/km
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Intro
Summary of TRAIL RUNNING in SCOTLAND - Training for a Mountain Ultra S2 E8 by Ben Parkes. The video shows a practical mountain workout you can try this week. The takeaways and session structure are below so you can get started. Watch the source video for the full details.
Key points
- Purpose: build leg strength and climbing stamina in the weeks before the Mozart 100 (110 km, ~5,000 m gain).
- Terrain: Scottish mountain trails with scrambles, steep climbs, and technical descents.
- Pacing: around 6:30 min/km across mixed terrain (about 10 mi / 16 km) with 1,500 m total elevation.
- Nutrition on the fly: basic carbs (peanuts, orange juice, water) handle a long, steep day fine.
- Recovery: a light recovery jog the next day to keep legs mobile.
Workout example
18 km trail climb day (scale to your ability)
This session preps you for ultras, but the climbing-strength principles carry over to any hilly race. You can reduce the distance and elevation gain to prepare for a tough trail event, using the same effort-based cues you’d apply when Mastering the 10K: Proven Training Plans, Pace Strategies, and How a Smart App Can Elevate Your Performance.
- Warm-up: 10 min easy jog on flat ground.
- Main set: run 18 km on hilly trail, aiming for ~6:30 min/km average pace. Focus on steady effort on climbs and consistent pace rather than speed. This is pure endurance work, separate from the harder bursts of hill repeats. To add intensity to your plan, see Mastering Interval Training: Science-Backed Workouts and How a Smart App Can Personalize Them.
- Target around 1,500 m total elevation gain (roughly 5% grade on average).
- Include short scramble sections. Treat them as active recovery and keep moving.
- Cool-down: 10 min easy jog plus light stretching.
- Fuel: every 45 to 60 min, a handful of peanuts and a sip of orange juice or water.
- Post-run: light recovery run (3 to 5 km) the next day to flush the legs.
Closing note
Try this climbing workout on your local hills and adjust the distance or pace to your current fitness. The session builds endurance, but a full training plan mixes different work types. Adding speed work to your long runs rounds out your fitness. The climbing-focused methods here work outside ultra racing too. See Mastering 5K Speed: Proven Interval Strategies to Cut Minutes off Your Time for how speed and strength training can compound.
Log your sessions with the Pacing app and adjust the numbers to your targets.