I took three running programs at Running Free in Markham.  As part of any great running program, you are required to do hill sprints. Hill training helps to develop strength and endurance.

I can recall yelling "I love hills" over and over again as we ran up and down. Starting with six repeats and ending with nine.

I snipped this from the article, On the road again: Start the season out right from Active Runner and thought you might be interested. I have added some of my own comments in bold.

2. Get into hill shape: All that time on the treadmill has kept you aerobically fit (a good thing), but you haven't been on the road. While treadmills simulate running, it's important to remember that they run you -- you don't power the treadmill.

For those of you who use a heart rate monitor, this is why your heart rate will be four to eight beats lower than what you would see on a similar outdoor run. It follows then that if running outdoors means recruiting more muscles, running on rolling terrain requires putting those muscles to good use. You can spot a treadmill runner in an early-season race by watching them fade on the hills.

To avoid becoming a "fader" yourself, it's important to incorporate some hill running in your routine. Start small by doing two to three runs a week on a rolling course. Once this is comfortable, consider heading for a local hill and doing some 30" to 45" repeats (at normal pace) in the middle of a weekly run. When this is comfortable (four to six weeks), you can start to do some specific hill work. Start with 40" repetitions and build to 80" max.

Remember the three keys to hill workouts:

• Warm up well beforehand -- at least 15 minutes.
• Do not sprint up the hill -- instead, run at a normal pace up the hill then pick up the pace for the last five seconds (as you come over the top of the hill).
• Jessica's note: My second coach taught us to jog lightly down the hill - not walk - in order to flush lactic acid from our muscles. This really worked. I found myself in less pain the next day and recovered and built strength much faster.
• Recover after each hill workout -- Some light stretching and elevating your legs will help alleviate some of the additional stress that hill work entails.