Hiking is frequently overlooked in training plans even though it is a key ultra-marathon skill. Amateur ultra-runners can spend up to half of a race hiking – this is especially true for mountain races. Even elite runners spend a good amount of time hiking during a race. Among many important racing aspects, hiking plays an important role for climbing hills, covering technical terrain and active recovery (resting while moving).
In addition to racing, hiking is a great and necessary part of training. It took me a while to realize this – you need to train hiking muscles since they are different from running muscles. When I trained for the Midnight Moose 100 miler in September, 2019 I split my training between running and hiking. This wasn’t easy, I had to consciously hold myself back from running during training. Like most runners, I want to run when I’m out for a training session. In the end, all of the hiking really paid off – I placed second overall in the Midnight Moose, my best finish ever for an ultra marathon. Hiking is a great way to maintain training through strains and fatigue. I’ll choose to hike during a long training session instead of running so that I don’t aggravate the strain. I’ll also hike during training sessions when I’m overly tired and sore.
Hiking is often underrated for speed. I recently learned about the amazing speeds at which race walkers compete. Yohann Diniz, a French race walker, holds the world record for 50km with an amazing 3:32:33. In comparison, it took me 6 hours to complete 65km around a track back in January and I was running as hard as I could!
It’s easy to forget about hiking when you’re training for running. I accidentally left hiking out of this year’s training plan and needed a reminder to build it back in. A fast hike is an amazing weapon to have in your ultra-running arsenal. Give hiking a try during your training and you’ll be sure to see the benefits in your next race.
