By Higher Running Coach, Jake Head
Spring is approaching. The weather is getting warmer, the trails are opening up, and the trail-prone among us are scouring UltraSignup for our next mountain adventure. If you are anything like me, the steep, rugged, and remote events always seem the most appealing. If you find yourself on the entry list for one of these races, this article is for you!
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Know Your Course
The first thing I have athletes do when preparing for a steep race is calculate the vertical gain per mile. This is simply the total vertical gain divided by the race distance.
For example, a 50k with 8,000 feet of vert averages about 250 feet of climbing per mile.
This number gives you a useful target when structuring your long runs. As you get closer to race day, your long runs should begin to approach the vertical density of your race. This helps your legs adapt not just to running long, but to climbing long.
It’s also important to look at how the climbing is distributed. 8,000 feet of vert spread across constant rolling terrain feels very different than the same vert concentrated into a few sustained climbs. Being familiar with the elevation plot of your race can be extremely valuable, not just for knowing where the hills are on race day, but also for knowing what kind of hills to look for in training to best mimic the race course.
Understanding your course helps you prepare specifically and feel confident on race day.
Run or Hike?
Many runners, especially those coming from road backgrounds, resist hiking. It can feel like giving up. But in steep trail races, hiking is often the most efficient option.
At steeper grades, the energy cost of running increases dramatically while providing very little speed advantage. For most runners, a 15–20% incline (roughly 800–1000 feet of elevation gain per mile) is where hiking is going to be a better choice. A strong, purposeful power hike can often match running speed while costing significantly less energy.
For reference, a sustainable running pace for me at a 15% grade is about a 14:00-minute-per-mile pace. I can power hike that same grade at roughly a 15-minute-per-mile pace, and it is significantly less taxing to do so. Unless your race’s climbs are very long, the time loss from swapping to a hike is often negligible, and you get to save your legs for downhill and flat sections.
Even elite trail runners hike steep climbs. This allows them to conserve energy and maintain steadier output over long races. But the key is making sure your hiking is intentional. A strong power hike (driving through the glutes, maintaining an upright posture, and moving efficiently) can make a massive difference over the course of a long climb.
If you know your race includes steep climbs, practice hiking during your training (contrary to popular belief, the Strava police won’t come for you if you hike during your “Morning Trail Run”).
How Much Vert Should You Be Doing?
A mistake I often see is runners either avoiding vert entirely or doing steep climbing every single day. Neither is ideal.
Your long runs and key workouts should include vert that reflects the demands of your race. Using our earlier example of 250 feet per mile, a 15-mile long run might include roughly 3,500 to 4,000 feet of climbing.
This doesn’t need to be exact. The goal is to gradually expose your legs to the demands of sustained climbing so race day doesn’t come as a shock.
At the same time, it’s important that your easier days remain easy. Steep climbing places significant stress on your calves, quads, and glutes, and it can be very difficult to climb at a true recovery heart rate. Including flatter runs allows your climbing muscles to rest and helps maintain good biomechanics. While running uphill builds strength and power that can help improve biomechanics, it can lead to an “ultra shuffle” type of running form if you never run flatter terrain and allow your stride to open up.
When planning your run routes, keep in mind the intention of the run and whether the route is conducive to the goal of that specific training session.
What If You Can’t Hit the Trails?
The treadmill is your friend! Cranking the incline up can be an extremely effective way to prepare for a mountainous race, especially if weather, schedule, or other factors prevent you from getting out on the trails.
A session I like to do is to look at the elevation plot of my race and try to recreate those climbs on the treadmill. For example, my goal race this year, Teanaway Country 100, has a 6-mile uphill on a forest service road at the start of the course, gaining about 2,000 feet. I can hop on the treadmill and do 6 miles at a 6–7% incline to create my own indoor version of that specific climb and get a good idea of how it feels.
Most treadmills max out at a 12–15% incline, don’t usually have the ability to decline, and are not going to test your balance like real trails do, so getting out on actual hills is still ideal when possible.
Don’t Neglect the Downhills
While climbs get most of the attention and are what runners often worry about the most, descents are often what determine how well you perform late in a race.
Downhill running places high eccentric loads on the quadriceps. This type of loading causes more muscular damage than climbing and is often what leads to the heavy, unresponsive legs many runners experience late in races.
The solution isn’t bombing every downhill in training, but gradually building tolerance.
One of my favorite workouts is pairing hard uphill efforts with controlled, faster descents. After a hard climb, running downhill at a steady but purposeful effort teaches your legs to handle the exact demands you’ll encounter in racing.
It doesn’t take much of this type of training to see significant benefits. Even a small amount of intentional downhill exposure can dramatically improve durability. This sort of training can also be risky and only needs to be done a couple of times in a training block to fully reap the benefits. Coach Sandi and Coach Sage wrote a whole article about it here: https://higherrunning.com/2025/10/
Trekking Poles
For races with sustained steep climbs, trekking poles can be incredibly helpful (check your race’s rules to make sure they are allowed, though!).
They allow you to distribute some of the workload to your upper body, reducing the strain on your legs and helping you maintain efficiency during long climbs.
If you plan to use poles on race day, it’s important to train with them beforehand. A common mistake I see runners make is not engaging their lats (the big muscles of the back) when using poles. Think about performing a lat-dominant movement like a chin-up or row. Your lats should be doing most of the heavy-lifting, and your arm muscles are just assisting. This goes for poles as well. If your lats are not engaged, it’s very easy to fatigue the muscles in your arms, as they are relatively small and weak compared to your lats. I have seen runners in steep races burn out their arms from improper pole technique, and it’s not pretty!
When choosing poles, make sure to get a light carbon-fiber Z-fold style specifically for running. Regular hiking poles are much heavier and are not quickly deployed or stored. Leki and Black Diamond both make excellent lightweight trekking poles specifically for running. Make sure you pick a pair that is fitted for your height!
Final Thoughts
Preparing for a steep mountain race can feel daunting, but with specific and intentional training, your body will adapt to what you need it to do. Do your homework on your race course, prepare intentionally, and you’ll be ready not just to survive your event, but to fully enjoy all the trail magic you’ll experience along the way.
Happy trails!
Coach Jake Head