Ahead of this weekend’s World Mountain Running Championships in Italy, GB team-member Mary Wilkinson shared her top eight tips to master off-road uphill running

Over 400 athletes from 40 countries will tackle a gruelling mainly uphill course in Casette di Massa when the World Mountain Running Championships take place in Italy on Sunday.

Mary Wilkinson forms part of the 17-strong Great Britain & Northern Ireland team, the experienced inov-8 athlete having represented GB nine times in mountain running and won five medals with three of those team golds.

Ahead of travelling to Italy to tackle the 8km Casette di Massa course, the 33-year-old shared her top eight tips to help athletes to master off-road uphill running.

Running uphill can hold as much of a psychological barrier as a physical one. For long continual climbs don t think of the whole distance and altitude gain. Instead, break it down into manageable segments that you can mentally tick off as they pass.

If it s a race, I will either run the route beforehand or look at the profile and identify key points, such as completing an especially steep section or getting to a flat section. For last month s World Championship trial race, held over an uphill-only course at Sedbergh, I split it into five sections and thus it felt much more manageable in my head!

If the hill is sustained and has a constant gradient, try and find a good running rhythm and stick to it. I often find myself counting to my foot strikes, which keeps me focused and working at a constant effort.

Shorten your strides and lean into the hill, but keep the same rhythm and effort, as you would do when running on the flat. Taking smaller steps will keep you driving up and forward rather than over-striding and having to lift your weight over your foot plant. I also like the feeling that I am running faster and stronger with the higher cadence that accompanies a shorter stride.

“Running uphill can hold as much of a psychological barrier as a physical one … break it down into manageable segments”

Don t look down! Keep your head up and maintain a good posture. Looking at your feet means that you can t open your lungs as much, which means less oxygen to your legs, which makes the hill harder!

About 15 minutes before for an uphill race do a couple of short (10 seconds max) hill sprints to ensure your key leg muscles are firing.

Sometimes it is just as fast to walk very steep ascents, however, if you do, make sure you don t take the opportunity to ease off and instead really power walk. It can be hard to get back into running if you do walk. So, rather than walking, try shortening your stride and keep running.

Ensure your shoes have good grip. There is nothing worse than your foot slipping as you try and drive off. My shoes of choice for uphill-only races are the inov-8 roclite 243 in dry conditions and the inov-8 x-talon 190 when it s wet.

Don t forget; when running uphill-only races you will finish at a higher altitude than you started and the weather can be very different so carry extra kit to offer protection.

For more on inov-8 products see inov-8.com

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