SmarterFitter

A while back my friend Jyoti was asking if hill running would substitute for speedwork and Monica and I thought it probably was about equivalent to interval training (running fast for short distances, jogging a bit and then running fast again) but we didn't have any real info on it.

Here's a great article on running hills for speed:

One of the most famous proponents of hill training is Olympic coach Arthur Lydiard. His hill circuit training requires the athlete to bound (focus on horizontal motion) or leap (focus on vertical motion) up the hill. Lydiard concentrated a great deal on hill running form to promote efficiency. Driving the knees, for example, is one aspect on which to focus--as well as toeing-off and slapping the heel to the buttocks.

Bonus, Lydiard is a New Zealander like me and he used to have his atheletes run about in the Waitakere Ranges out west in my home town Auckland. Jyoti lives there and those hills are right in her backyard.

Link (via Cool Running)