How To Start Running On Trails or Hills: 4 Beginner Tips

One of the main tenants of all training physiology is the concept of progression.

Simply speaking, training works because the body slowly adapts to the stresses we put on it and gets stronger.

Over time, however, the same stress (i.e. same running pace or weight on a barbell) diminishes in effectiveness since you’re now stronger from it.

That means you need to slowly and consistently add new stress and stimulus to consistently make performance gains. Progression!

But, when it comes to running, pace and mileage aren’t the only way you can change up the stresses you put on your body.

Hills and trails are actually a great way to add a new stimulus to your training so you can consistently make progress.

In fact, adding hills and trails to your training can lead to improvements in your performance you may not get from road running alone.

But for runners who have just started adding hills or trails, it’s essential to modify your training to avoid improper form, overtraining, and increasing your injury risk.

In this article we’ll get into depth on the 4 key training techniques for running on trails or hills, including…

• How to safely start adding hills and trails to your current routine
• Proper running form for hills and trails
• How you can add these training variables into your routine
• Sample workout examples you can steal

Start At A Slow Pace and Low Intensity:

There are big benefits to including hill and trail running in your routine.

In fact, this study from 2023 found that road runners who added trail runs into their training saw improvements in their overall running performance and leg strength.

However, when you add something new to your running program, always start conservatively.

Switching from primarily running on the road to running on trails can be a drastic change.

Adding trails or hills too quickly can:

• Impact your pace
• Change your running form
• Alter your muscle strength
• Place a new demand on your mind and body

This can lead to overtraining, muscle soreness, and injury if you don’t add it to your training correctly.

To safely add hills and trails into your program:

• Move at a slower pace
• Keep your intensity lower
• Avoid going too far too fast

Due to the various terrain of trails, you have to be aware of every step as you run.
You must be mentally present and focused the entire time, as there is always a potential rock to dodge or a thick root to step over.

Hills are going to tire you out faster and both uphill and downhill running can alter your form.

You can start safely by focusing on the concept of “slow and low”.

Here’s how.

How To Start Slow

For your initial training runs on trails or hilly conditions, run at a slower pace than you typically would on the road.

This will ensure that your body is given an adequate amount of time and repetitions to get used to the new stressors and conditions.

For example, if you are used to running a 10-minute per mile (6:13 km) pace for an average run on the road, start by running a 12-minute mile for trail running.

How To Keep Intensity Low

When running in a hilly environment, start by incorporating small elevation gains in your training.

If you are used to running mostly on flat terrain, your muscles may not be used to the demands of running up and down different elevations.

When running in an area with a lot of hills, start with a short run of two to three miles on the hills, and if available, move to flat terrain for the rest of your run.

Following Slow And Low Reduces Your Chance of Injury

You can keep the “slow and low” mindset when beginning your initial weeks of training on trails or hilly conditions using 2 strategies:

1. Decrease your typical pace.
2. Start with minimal elevation gain.

Don’t worry about going as fast, and start with smaller hills in the beginning.

This will mitigate the chance of injury and allow your body adequate time to adapt to the new demands of trails and hilly conditions.

Don’t Measure Your Progress With Pace or Distance:

For road running, pace and distance are popular tracking metrics to determine your workouts, progress over time, and overall performance.

But, those may not be the best metrics when you first begin training on trails or hills.

Due to the difficulty of the terrain of hills or slippery mud on trails, your pace and total distance will likely be reduced.

Hilly terrain and trails can randomly and frequently change, making both more demanding than a flat road.

Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t track your runs at all. It just means it’s better to use a different strategy. 

Use Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)

A simple and effective metric for your trail or hill runs is the rate of perceived exertion or RPE.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe RPE as how intense a physical activity feels to an individual.

Keep in mind that RPE is highly subjective. Your moderate RPE may be, and likely is, different than another runner’s. 

RPE is divided into a scale between 1-10, divided up based on your effort and how you feel.

• Easy (1-3): You can hold a conversation with someone and breathe naturally.
• Moderate (4-6): You can still talk in short sentences, and while breathing is tougher, you are not exerting yourself to the point you’re uncomfortable or can’t catch your breath.
• Hard (7-9): You’re only able to say a few words at a time, have heavier breathing, and your exertion has pushed you outside of your comfort zone.
• Max effort (10): You cannot talk, are at your physical limit, and you are breathing hard and fast.

When planning your trail and hill runs, use RPE to prescribe the workout.

For example, you could do a three-mile trail run at a moderate RPE of 4-6, meaning you can talk in short sentences, but still hold a conversation, throughout your run.

Since you know you will be doing a moderate-intensity run, you can adjust your pace as needed while on the various terrain of the trail or hills to stay in that RPE range.

Embrace The Challenge:

The switch from road running to more trail and hilly terrain running can be as challenging mentally as it is physically.

Seeing improvements in pace and distance always comes with a boost in motivation.

However, seeing your pace and total distance decrease while running on trails or hilly terrain may feel discouraging, particularly for runners with a competitive streak (aka, the majority of runners).

But focusing on trail and hill running as a new challenge, while using RPE rather than pace or distance, can prevent you from feeling discouraged or like you’re not progressing.

Remember, trail and hilly terrain running are new and unique challenges. They require different skills than road running.

Running two miles up a 1000-foot trail is an amazing feat, and it is quite different and much harder, than running two miles on a flat road.

Your pace will be drastically reduced on the 1000-foot incline than on the road, but your RPE may be higher due to the specific demands of the trail.

Shift Your Mentality

Modifying your training to trails and hilly terrain requires a mental shift.

These 3 tips can help you not feel discouraged if your pace decreases or you can’t go as far.

1. Look at trail and hilly terrain workouts as a new area to improve in. Think of it as a new challenge.
2. As you progress, enjoy all your improvements and wins, no matter how small, and the workout variation this training provides.
3. The shift from road running to trails also includes different views and scenery. Enjoy nature and all the new views it has to offer.

Work On Your Running Form & Technique:

Just as you need to adjust your running pace, how you measure exertion, and your workout expectations, you also need to adjust your running form when running on trails and hills.

In addition, how you adjust your running form for trails will differ from how you adjust it for hills. 

Here are running technique tips for each.

How To Master Running Form For Trails:

• Keep your eyes on the trails: Keep an eye out for anything on the trails that you could potentially trip over, like rocks, sticks, and tree roots. Keep your eyes down, but not so much so that you’re only looking at your feet. Look ahead and down at the trail, so you know what you’re running over and whether anything is coming up you need to avoid.
• Shorten your stride: A large stride on trails can cause you to feel unbalanced. Focus on shortening your stride, ensuring your feet are underneath you during your run. 
• Use your arms: You’ll find there’s a lot more to concentrate on with trail running compared to road running, and it can be easy to let your form slip. But, don’t neglect key things, like swinging your arms when trail running. It can help you feel balanced, which you’ll appreciate on bumpy, uneven trails.

If you’re struggling with balance on the trail, even after perfecting your form, adding some balance training to your running routine can help.

Check out this video below for even more trail running tips and tricks to elevate your off-roading game, such as shoe considerations and more details on why your pace isn’t as important with trails.

How To Perfect Running Form For Hills:

• Don’t lean forward or backward: When you first start running hills a natural inclination can be to lean your upper body forward when going uphill and lean backward when going downhill. But leaning forward can make it harder to breathe and leaning back can throw off your running form, which always increases injury risk.
• Take even shorter steps: Make your stride even shorter than you do with trail running. It will help you focus on not running too far forward or backward. Focus on short, quick steps and not overstriding can help with this.

Looking for additional hill form tips? Here’s a video to further explain the best uphill running technique.

Example Workouts

Here are a few workout ideas to get you started.

Both trail running and hill workouts are beneficial to include in a runner’s routine, but if you’re a beginner, start with adding one or the other into your program.

Simultaneously including both hill or trail running in your training regimen can increase your chance of injury or overtraining.

Trail Run Workout

• Perform a 2-3 mile run at an easy RPE intensity of 2-3, meaning you can easily hold a conversation the entire time.
• If you like to monitor your heart rate to track intensity, it should be around 60-65% of HRmax, and your exertion level should be low.
• Remember for an easy RPE, adjust your pace as needed to ensure that your intensity doesn’t increase as you run across the various terrains and elevation changes on trails.
• Once this workout begins to feel easy, you can either increase your RPE to a moderate intensity, or keep an easy RPE and run 4-5 miles instead.

Hilly Terrain Workout

An example run on hilly terrain could be simple hill repeats.

• Find a hill that takes 1-2 minutes to run up at an easy-to-moderate RPE.
• Run up the hill at an easy-to-moderate RPE and walk back down to recover. Once you get back to the bottom of the hill, run back up.
• Start with a few repeats, and progress by adding 1-2 repeats each week.

As this gets easier, you have a few options to make your hills harder:

1. Increase your RPE to moderate-to-hard, which is more in line with a tempo training routine.
2. Move your workouts to a steeper hill for an extra challenge.
3. Run up the hill and jog back down, reducing the amount of recovery in between hills.

Final Tips For Running On Trails Or Hills

Start conservatively when adding trails and hilly terrain to your running program.

Begin your first few weeks by substituting one or two of your usual runs with a trail or hilly terrain run.

For these hilly or trail runs, remember to:

• Decrease your pace.
• Start with minimal elevation gain.
• Focus on RPE rather than pace and distance.
• Enjoy the change and the opportunity to improve to a new demand.
• Make form tweaks to improve your hill runs.

Once you add one or two runs and find you’ve adjusted to this new training style, you can consider adding in another of these workouts, adding distance to your existing trail or hill runs, or increasing your RPE.

Performing tempo training on hills is an extremely effective way to improve your v02 max and race pace.

Prioritize Form Over Distance

If you find that your form is suffering on trails or hills, reduce your mileage until you can perfect your form.

Even if you’re in the middle of a run but find an extra steep hill is causing you to lean forward unavoidably, consider walking as your body adjusts.

It’s better to be safe than injured!