Running · Hills & climbing
HILL SPRINTS
8–10 × 10–12 s maximal uphill sprints, full recovery
THE STORY
Canova and Arcelli's marathon book recommends fast uphill sprints of 15 seconds or less on very steep hills. Our version: 8–10 sprints of 10–12 seconds with full recovery.
Sources
- Review and summary of Marathon Training - A Scientific Approach by Renato Canova — Running Writings, 2023
WHAT IT TRAINS
Power, stride strength and injury resilience — maximal efforts so short they barely tire you.
WHO IT'S FOR
Every distance runner, all year. A classic add-on after an easy run.
HOW TO DO IT
- 01Run 20–30 minutes easy first.
- 02Sprint 10–12 seconds up a steep hill at close to maximal effort, with good form.
- 03Walk back down and rest fully (about 2 minutes). Repeat 8–10 times.
- 04Jog 5–10 minutes to finish.
SCALED VERSION
Start with 4 × 8 seconds and add two sprints a week.
Build the scaled version in Forge →TARGETS THAT FIT YOU
Every rep carries an effort cue — 5K effort, threshold, easy — so it works at any fitness. Your watch shows the cue on each step. Want exact paces? Save your threshold pace or a recent race in Settings and tap Tailor to my paces.
THE WORKOUT, STEP BY STEP
RUNNING47min 39s
Hill Sprints
8–10 × 10–12 s maximal uphill sprints, full recovery · Inspired by Renato Canova. · Fit File Forge Workout Library: www.fitfileforge.com/workouts/library/hill-sprints
WARMUP20 min
easy
INTERVAL11 sec
maximal uphill sprint
RECOVERY2 min
walk back and full recovery
COOLDOWN8 min
easy
RELATED WORKOUTS
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Norwegian 20 × 200 m Hills
20 × 200 m uphill, jog down
1 h
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