Is It Actually Worth It to Run Uphill?

When you’re plodding so slowly it feels like you're moving backwards, wouldn’t it be better to just... walk?

Illustration of runner going uphill

(Photo: Brendan Leonard)

Published October 28, 2023 05:14AM

You know the feeling: You’re running on a trail, — (All illustrations: Brendan Leonard)

it starts to head uphill, you keep running,

it gets steeper, you keep running, but more slowly,

it gets steeper, you keep running, but you’re out of breath, you're pretty sure your heart rate is ~400 BPM, your stride length has shortened to what feels like three inches,

And, hold on—wouldn’t it be faster to just walk this part? One voice in your head says “walk,” and the other voice says “don’t give up.” So what do you do?

I’ll tell you what I do, and it has nothing to do with speed, efficiency, how I look, or even common sense. I keep running. Some days—not every day, but many days—I just want to see if I can run all the way to the top.

So I grind out one million three-inch steps, clocking a 16-minute mile, or an 18-minute mile, unable to hear anything over the sound of my own wheezing, but I am still swinging my arms and bouncing off the balls of my feet, so that’s running, right? Hold on. Let's go at this from from the opposite direction: What’s walking?

According to USA Track and Field and Olympic rules, “Race walking differs from running in that it requires the competitor to maintain contact with the ground at all times.” If both your feet are off the ground at the same time, you are running. Those are the rules.

So I slog uphill, moving so slowly that you might say to someone, “that person is barely running.” I’ll give you that—yes, it is barely running. But it’s definitely not walking. So that makes it running.

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