Hill Starts

[Egglett]

Hi - I'm just getting into Fell running and previously have spent all my time road running - I've done a couple of marathons quite a few half's and consider myself not too bad at them.

I noticed though that for the fells people seem to rush off up the climbs quickly and have the push to do it

I'm usless at that at the moment - on road runs I stay back and ease into he first few miles.. seems like I need to learn to drop that a bit

Any thoughts?
Anything that you think will help me get a better starting point?

I'm always at the back and hate it!

[Hamertime]

Hi - I'm just getting into Fell running and previously have spent all my time road running - I've done a couple of marathons quite a few half's and consider myself not too bad at them.

I noticed though that for the fells people seem to rush off up the climbs quickly and have the push to do it

I'm usless at that at the moment - on road runs I stay back and ease into he first few miles.. seems like I need to learn to drop that a bit

Any thoughts?
Anything that you think will help me get a better starting point?

I'm always at the back and hate it!

Oh yeah!

Well you seemed to get round the Half-Yorkshireman OK!

[BillJ]

I noticed though that for the fells people seem to rush off up the climbs quickly and have the push to do it

I'm usless at that at the moment - on road runs I stay back and ease into he first few miles.. seems like I need to learn to drop that a bit

Rushing off up the climbs is not a good move! You'll pay for it over the rest of the race. Climbing at a pace that you can sustain is a much better idea, certainly for a race that's more than a few miles.

So I'd stick to easing into a race if I were you. At least until you're confident enough to know how fast to push depending on how long the race is.

Hill reps are a good way to strengthen and speed up your climbing. I just find them boring!

[Harry H Howgill]

I noticed though that for the fells people seem to rush off up the climbs quickly and have the push to do it

I'm usless at that at the moment - on road runs I stay back and ease into he first few miles.. seems like I need to learn to drop that a bit

On the roads you can use the first few miles as a warmup. Depending on the route, and a lot of fell races have a good steep section early on, it's worth getting fully warmed up prior to the race. From a standing start I need 15 - 20 mins to start to feel fresh. I feel it on training runs, so I tend to do that as a jog for that sort of time as a warmup.

I hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs here.

Harry

[Grouse]

Hey don't knock it. Sucking eggs is a valuable life skill.

[Egglett]

Not at all.. is a funny thing - in road running I seem to be getting asked alot of stuff recently as I'm seen by those who know me as a wise owl type (seen - it's all lies really -lol!) - however on the fells I am a true beginner!!

Hammertime.. dont look too closely at last years Yorkshireman.... I set up a small team based on us all being newish to off road and making the rule of start together and finsih together.. I learned a lesson though.. three of us had trained to 13/14 road miles - one hadnt - one wasnt really capable of the full mileage and it meant we had a mare from mile 8 - so it was a right off really.. at least we know the route for this years proper attempt!!

Anyhow.. back to the hill starts

I think what I am doing is looking and thinking "I should be able to do that"... and at the end of the day most of my running is on flat roads.. so I cant expect to just get up and go like you all do can I

Warm up is a good plan.. I was talking to a friend about that actually... so that's a good tip

I'm going to start doing high incline walk/runs on the treadmill just to get my legs working a bit harder... I also started circuit training tonight - that showed up lack of strength generally

Is good to read your thoughts
I'll have to just enjoy the scenery from the back for a while then wont I

[Denzil]

From a standing start I need 15 - 20 mins to start to feel fresh. Depending on the rout I feel it on training runs, so I tend to do that as a jog for that sort of time as a warmup.
Harry

H, I am the same. A good 20 minutes before my legs feel proper ! Not too much of an issue when you are doing the longer races (Egglet get on the full Yorksman this year !!!) Any race under an hour and I need to warm up properly. Otherwise I set off too fast and my legs just die after 15 - 20 mins !
Worth adding in a few 'strides' towards the end of the warm up too just to get your heart up to speed !

[Egglett]

Is that a challenge Denzil??

Not sure I am ready for the full this year - 2008 is a YES but this year I'd like to get a good go at the half.. plus I have a under 4hr road marathon challenge to do...

It's reassuring that other people struggle the first bit.. looks like warming up is going to be worth a try

Think I will also try and build up leg strength with some weight work

Do any of you do any gym stuff or is that for pussy's?! LOL

[Denzil]

Always up for a challenge !! Hope to break 4 hours this year for the full, thats the challenge !

Weight training is good for leg strength obviously, squats, leg press, leg curls. Although I try and do them single leg rather than double leg. My reasoning is you dont run around with both legs tied together in a bunny hop fashion, so why weight train like that. As Harry H says there is no better strength training for doing hills than doing hills ! If you want to have a real thigh burning hill session, try running up a hill backwards (obviously needs to be fairly even surface).

Theres some good tips in this months Runners World MAg for hill running reps !!

[Katt Belles]

Do any of you do any gym stuff or is that for pussy's?! LOL

The very idea, I feel quite faint.

I can assure you that that kind of thing is definitely not for pussys.

Ciao.