TRAINING TIPS for RUNNING a mountain race without access to big hills!

[@runbikerun8189]

Best line of the video, "Yes it's boring. Yes it's repetitive. But it trains the mind as well". Thank you Sarah!

[@SarahPlace]

train the mind and you can do anything!

[@robertskolimowski7049]

Brilliant stuff Sarah, thank u! I guess the only snag is that according to some stats (almost) nowhere in London there're areas where air pollution safe limits haven't been exceeded:(

[@follystone]

It’s a bit of a grim option but ... multi-storey car parks at a quiet time of day. There’s usually plenty of ramps & stair-wells at different pitches.

[@SarahPlace]

ahh yes great idea pete! something you don't hear too often.. "i'm just heading to the carpark for a run"😂

[@Brinwhite182]

Great video. Your section on stairs reminded me of when I used to run to Canary Wharf to work and finish with a 27 floor stair climb. My colleagues thought I was a little bit mad when I burst out of the fire escape but it was worth it for the strength gains 🙃

[@SarahPlace]

hahaha yeah i remember seeing all your stair runs on strava😅

[@tudorcardas7462]

Great tips, had similar ideas on what I need to do as I prepare for my first ultra but it was really reassuring that you gave tips that I've already been putting into practice. Very good quality video all around!

[@highdeserthomesteader]

Training for the Bel Monte 50 miler in Virginia mountains USA. First 50 and have 4 kids under the age of 6. Not a lot of time to train in the mountains! This is super helpful thank you!

[@SarahPlace]

oh wow that's amazing danielle! i'm sure your are always on your feet anyway with 4 kids of that age running around! good luck with the training :)

[@canningsimon]

As an amateur ultra "attempter" I have learnt that training for the downhill is as important as the up. Completely different muscle contraction so well worth a bit of focus. I use treadmills to great effect, mostly for varying types of intervals. Someone said to me (and it stung) "only the boring get bored". You are absolutely right that its crucial to work on the psychology of "zoning out". To avoid the dreaded dnf keep putting one foot in front of the other during training, irrespective of negative thoughts.

[@tomwood5247]

I have the Midnight Man Marathon in the Brecon Beacons coming up in June and I live in Essex. We have a few hills but not on the inclines that there will be in Wales. To make the race harder we are racing with 16kg rucksacks as well! Brutal

[@mohdirwansophan78]

Will be doing my first hilly ultra trail this year, really good tips in this video. Tq

[@dazdarren9926]

Great ideas on how to improvise and find ramps to get elevation. I was an expat in England years ago and love seeing your outdoor footage of the city and countryside. I miss England

[@MakaylaMariah]

Great video, I just wished I watched this in the beginning of my training plan. All your videos are very informative and perfectly laid out!

[@steve7882]

Thank you for the really good suggestions and exercises

[@samhodgson8623]

Just what I needed on a Thursday! Thanks Sarah

[@SarahPlace]

thanks sam! enjoy!

[@owenmcgh]

Just signed up for UTA22 for next year. I've run a few stair climbing events (6000+ stairs up/down), but I feel like I'm going into UTA22 pretty raw. Living in the inner city means I don't get to run trails as often as I'd like. Definitely coming back to this video in the next 5 months for ideas and reminders.

[@e3Scott]

Thanks so much for another excellent video Sarah, gives me some great ideas how I can adjust some of my running routes to include more hill training :) Cheers from Canada, Scott

[@SarahPlace]

thanks as always for your lovely comment scott! bet you have some wonderful hills where you are!

[@Adamnealvelez]

I had a relatively flat 50K I was hoping to do this week but won't be able to. Some friends are pushing me to do a 50K with tons of incline next month. This just motivated me to push for it. Thanks!

[@conradburdekin722]

Great tips Sarah especially as I live somewhere quite flat. Also: good luck in your 200 miler 😳😳😳

[@qcomberette]

Thanks, I am now in Malaysia, lockdown since January, not allowed to go further than 10 km from home so no trail running just a lot of road running and Zwift (bike) and home workouts. I am still hoping my 100km in Borneo in September will happen and that we will be allow out soon.

[@richardbrown1573]

Thanks Sarah - great tips! All the best for your Arc training too.

[@SarahPlace]

thanks rich!

[@adewalekadiri]

Thanks for the video, Sarah and the great tips. I live in Wiltshire and although it isn't completely flat it's not exactly an ideal training base for TranGrancanaria (although the Cotswold Way isn't too far away).

[@tommosal]

Thanks Sarah, very useful tips for my half Marathon Du Mont Blanc! 👍

[@ifonly1532]

Now all you've got left is some altitude training are you'll be toast even before the race starts !

[@SarahPlace]

Glad it was helpful! good luck with the training!

[@davidlangford6723]

Another great vlog Sarah. Many thanks.

[@Kg_travelandrun]

Great video and perfect timing for some tips. I’ve just entered my first ultra, 125km for next year in the Azores. Can’t wait! Keep the videos coming Sarah, you’re doing a great job

[@SarahPlace]

oh amazing! is that ultra x? that will be incredible! the azores looks stunning

[@Kg_travelandrun]

@@SarahPlace I know right looks so nice there! Yep an Ultra X event. Hopefully I’ll finish it haha

[@vicpivo]

Thanks for this. I am still training for the Brecon Beacons Marathon. Cancel from June this year. Nice to have some extra motivation and new ideas.

[@SarahPlace]

ahh bet that will be amazing catherine!! good luck with the training!

[@emmahayes5654]

I live in the Vale of York which is pancake flat, did a 6km local trail run last week and got 0m elevation for the whole thing! I’ve seen people doing hills on the alley up to the railway station which is on a bridge but that’s only super short so I tend to drive to a hill. Got race to the stones next year though so may head into the Peaks or the Dales some weekends for training runs.

[@SarahPlace]

yeah heading into the hills on the occasional weekend would be a good idea emma. although at least the hills at rtts aren't too bad, they are more rolling hills rather than steep technical ones (from what i remember anyway!). good luck with the training!

[@KrisPeter]

Thanks for this. Racing in the Azores this summer while living in London so very helpful. Nice idea about the road crossing bridge, will give that a go. And maybe I'll pop into IKEA next time I pass by and do some repeats in their multi storey car park (trying not to get run over). Always wondered how to integrate stairmaster into a plan, what is your experience with that? Tag it onto the end of a treadmill run? Thanks again

[@georgeallen8628]

Great video as always Sarah! I live in the middle of the Suffolk countryside and everything is pancake flat - have to get in the car to go to the nearest town to get some hills in!! Really starting to realise how important they are though.

[@SarahPlace]

i am from suffolk! (bury st edmunds) and yes i feel your pain. not as bad as cambridgeshire though! have a look at a topographic map to scope out some hills nearby, there might be a few hidden gems en-gb.topographic-map.com/maps/b9/England/

[@georgeallen8628]

@@SarahPlace oo wow, I’m just outside Bury! Mount road and near the hospital are where I have to get my hill training in. Thanks for the link, looks really helpful!

[@SarahPlace]

Crazy I used to live on downing close off Mount Road. That is a decent hill! And then moved to Thurston so the only hill was the bridge over the train line 😂

[@georgeallen8628]

@@SarahPlace I went to 6th form in Thurston! Now live in Barningham, one of the little villages along from Ixworth. That’s so cool! I get so jealous of the runs from Greenwich on Strava, there’s always a view. In Barningham it’s just narrow muddy country roads with regular dives into ditches to avoid speeding cars! Even running in Thurston would be so much more glamorous! Thanks for the replies Sarah 😊 your videos are brilliant, keep it up!

[@davecowdry6274]

Another great video Sarah, this channel is just so useful. Yours and Ben's work so well together. I need to run more hills as I'm such a flatlander, maybe I'll use maze hill as well, probably shooters hill is nearer for me. 😂 Be good to see a dedicated strength video at some point, I think Ben did one ages ago. Nice to see some local spots. I was in Greenwich park on Saturday and now I always look out for either of you on a run.

[@SarahPlace]

ah well make sure you say hello if you do spot us! and yeah maze hill is good, a nice gradient, not too steep, not too shallow. you should check out the hilly trail on the green chain going up to severndroog castle is a great one!

[@davecowdry6274]

@@SarahPlace great thanks Sarah, I'm just the other side of that in belvedere but I work in welling so I'll check that out

[@andrewjknoxuk]

Enjoyed that, thanks! Doing a hilly ultra next year (Malham which you did a video on recently :)) and I'm in flat Manchester, like the idea of dropping exercises into the middle of an easy run

[@SarahPlace]

oh that will be stunning andrew! yeah it's a quick win with some strength stuff during an easy run. glad you enjoyed the video and enjoy the training for malham!

[@kssrider6766]

Good video!!! Keep it up.

[@James-Henderson]

Great video event though I live and train in north Devon where it’s hard to run without big hills. :)

[@gavinjohndooley1863]

Entered Race to the Tower June 2021 (first Ultra!) 2,500m climbing, I am doing some hill repeats and might do some mountains. Need to run with poles also! A good video on that would also be useful! There isn't much on how to run/use poles for hills.

[@dannygrays]

Great practical advice Sarah like finding hills and inclines! Picture quality definition looks so much clearer in this vid...or is it my eyes. New camera?

[@ThatRunningGuy]

Always enjoy your videos Sarah😁 Just to let you know you haven’t included the subscribe icon at the end of the video

[@SarahPlace]

thanks chris - just experimenting with different end screens!

[@ThatRunningGuy]

@@SarahPlace gotta have that sub button😃👍

[@benireland3406]

Great vid Sarah :)

[@SarahPlace]

thanks m8!

[@craigmills7280]

Hi Sarah. HELP!!! . I've been trail running for 6 weeks now (fitness prior to starting= awesome). I am running lots of hills and my calves are slowing me down. I get to 5km and my calves feel like balloon tight and I can't run a fast pace as it isn't Comfortable. Yesterday ran 16km and felt fine, but.. Can't get fast pace because of calve tightness.. appreciate your help.. Thanks, Craig from NZ

[@JamesPoole-de9uu]

UTMB off a 5 year plan Sarah (based in Bethnal Green!!). 2020 = Year ZERO = 50K race done!!

[@benjamintaylor8619]

Move to Bristol, we have all the hills!

[@SarahPlace]

ahhh so lucky! need to visit bristol again, only been once for work ages ago but never ran there, looks so nice!

[@1976aguayo]

send me regards I live in Seattle you are a great runner I follow your advice viva Mexico 🇲🇽

[@SarahPlace]

ah amazing jose! sending you lots of well wishes from london!

[@eh_Canadian_bond_fan]

great video and hills are fun 😁

[@SarahPlace]

thanks ryan!

[@turkeysandwich001]

Loved your video. I had a question about your trainers. How do you decide which/how many types of trainers you would need for a hill trail run? Thank as always

[@reginaldstampe3753]

Great job sis 👍like always 😉

[@SarahPlace]

thank you :):):)

[@pachecomaratonista8620]

Boa tarde Sarah, parabéns pelo treino e conteúdo 🏃‍♂️👣🤜🤛🤝

[@brianandrews4712]

Will you come visit the States and run the Mt Washington road race?

[@simonecarniglia4870]

Since my target was a marathon in 2020....and I trained all year for nothing for races that have been cancelled I entered a trail marathon in early 2021.....the distance is the same but with 1000m+....how can I guess my target pace/final time? My goal for a flat marathon was under 2:50. I heard thar roughly every 100m+ is pretty much as an extra km, so I guess my target should be sub 3:30? I live close to Hills so I have no problem to include some incline, but all on asphalt. I would like to add some offroad but is too muddy here, while the race is more rocky

[@DanRuns]

North Downs Way is what I use locally. Best I can get

[@captainmorgan6952]

Hi, Sarah! Greetings from Greece! Referring to the stair climbing session, do you recommend doing it at one go or spread the time during the 20 minutes period? Thank you in advance! Keep up the good work and remain helpful and inspirational!

[@SarahPlace]

hi! i would do something like 10-15 mins easy jog as a warm up then 20 minutes up and down the stairs in one go and then a 10-15 mins easy jog as a cool down. but play around and have fun with it, there's no right or wrong :)

[@captainmorgan6952]

@@SarahPlace thank you very much!

[@gwenllianroberts5857]

Great video! Are there any non hilly ultras out there? 😊

[@SarahPlace]

yes plenty! i have done a couple- thames path 100 mile and ultravasan 90k in sweden are both suuuuper flat - if anything i think they're harder because there is less chance (or excuse!) to walk!😅

[@adewalekadiri]

The 100 meilen Berlin (100 miles around the old Berlin Wall trail) is pretty flat as well as being a great history lesson!

[@davidskidmore56]

Any race suggestion if I was going to give a 50 mile trail race a go for the 1st time ?

[@NoxiousNoodles]

Living near Sheffield I have the opposite problem :(

[@SarahPlace]

house swap?? :D

[@NoxiousNoodles]

@@SarahPlace From my cold dead hands!

[@barneyhall4361]

Ha I’m the complete opposite I live in the cotswolds and every run is 120m+ elevation lol

[@SarahPlace]

ah the dream barney!

[@paulsparkes5741]

Would it be bragging if I said out of my back door I have a mountain that tops off at nearly 700mtr 😁 🇪🇸 practice the down hills as well people forget and trash there legs on the first big decent 😉

[@SarahPlace]

yeah that is the dream paul! beats my measly 25m hill! and yes downhills are always neglected, its certainly the thing i am weakest at anyway

[@joe_3y3s]

tbf though Greenwich is really not very flat...

[@SarahPlace]

yes very grateful for that 25m hill!

[@kruegs1fan322]

Hey your video was great! My friend also makes running videos like this on KZbin. He’s gonna be posting a videos soon on his half marathon he just did. Check him out and subscribe if you get the chance, JK Running Productions! 😄