THE DETAILS: 2 sets of 8 x 200-meter hills (6% grade) with a jog back down for recovery between repeats and three minutes between sets. 5k race effort on set #1. Slightly faster on set #2.

AN EXAMPLE: Olin Hacker, Wesley Kiptoo, and Alex Masai did this session in the fall of 2022, during their base phase. See the video below to watch them in action.

QUOTE: “When you’re running uphill…you’re able to work on power and speed but without the damage to the muscles, and tendons, and ligaments that sometimes comes with flat 200-meter repeats, or really hard 200-meter repeats on the track.” – Ben Rosario

HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF: Find a hill with a smooth grade of about 6-8% and measure out 200 meters. You can adjust the overall volume of the session (aka the number or repeats) but run the first set at 5k effort and the second set a bit faster. Note that the guys did this in their base phase. If they were further along in training, or in their racing season, they might do these faster. Same goes for you!