Running high-intensity hill reps will tax your VO2 Max, if you allow yourself enough recovery as a result this will really bring about a big jump in your top-end speed. This is a perfect session for runners and triathletes running events up to half marathons but also provides benefits for athletes doing longer events.
Each week I will be posting the Friday Fartlek Run Sessions that you can do to enhance your running. Fartlek is a Swedish term that is often used by runners and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.
The inspiration for this post came from a segment of the workout that Jacqui Keay took for her Urban Fit Class on Wednesday night. I keep hearing great things from the participants in her sessions, if you are ever in Nelson, New Zealand try and get along to one or more of her classes.
Checkout Trail Fit’s 4 Trig Challenge coming up:

Jacqui’s Urban Fit 20/30/45 Hill Reps
- 10min WU Level II;
- 3 sets of:
- 20sec Level V uphill, 60sec Level II jog down RI;
- 30sec Level V uphill, 60sec Level II jog down RI;
- 45sec Level V uphill, 60sec Level II jog down RI;
- 10min CD Level II;
- 10min Stretching
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) of ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II.
The Main Set involves running three sets of three reps uphill. The first rep of each set is 20 seconds long, the second is 30 seconds and the final rep of each set is 45 seconds long. These are all done at Level V, with a 60-second Rest Interval (RI) jogging downhill at Level II ready to commence the next rep.
The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for a minimum of ten minutes.
Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.
Take the average pace of the 1km reps to get an estimate of your 10k time.
If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.
I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.
I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.
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Download the Garmin (.FIT) files for this workout for FREE
If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published.
With COVID-19 putting us here in NZ into lockdown (but still able to exercise in our local neighbourhood) and events cancelled, my race plans have been put into disarray. For the next four weeks, I’m focusing on improving my 5km time. Monday will see me running a 5km and then 28 days of focused training.
Previously over a 4 week period I and an athlete I coach have just taken over 2 minutes each off our 5km times. Jamie has dropped nearly 3 minutes from 25:36 to 22:37 (12% improvement) and I have taken my 5km time from 23:20 to 21:09 (9% improvement). I’ve put together a package that will help runners of all abilities, run a faster 5km.
I’m so certain that you will be running faster I have given it a 100% money back guarantee if you don’t improve your 5km time after 28 days. I don’t care what your excuse for running slower is after 28 days…..
- I didn’t do any training…..
- It was raining…..
- It was windy…..
- I slept in…….
I’ll still give you a 100% refund.
If you want to be one of the first 20 people to go through this programme and get it for the ultra-low price of $28 then fill in the form below. But before you do so here is what you will get for your $47:
- A dedicated training programme on Training Tilt (value $277)
- Access to a weekly group coaching call (value $30 per call x5 = $150)
- The Faster 5km Training Bible (value $27)
- A dedicated Faster 5km 28 Day Challenge support group (priceless)
That’s a total value of over $454, and you will only pay $47 for this 28-day training programme and support features. All at no risk, if you don’t get faster you get a full 100% money back guarantee.
Follow Jacqui and see what she does with her Trail Fit classes on Instagram here: