Cross Country and Steep Hills: Technique, Footing, and Pacing

On a steep cross-country hill, shorten your stride and quicken your turnover (how many steps you take each minute): it's kinder on your thigh muscles and keeps your footing on grass or mud. Then keep the effort going for around 30 seconds past the crest. Below: uphill technique on grass, mud and uneven ground, how to keep momentum over the crest, how to build this into your training, and how to run downhill on this kind of ground.

Ease off at the top and you hand back every place you just earned, which is where races are actually won. Add mud, ruts and uneven grass, a footing problem road or track hill training never has to face, and good technique stops being optional and becomes the difference between holding your line and losing it.

Uphill Technique on Grass, Mud, and Uneven Ground

On a road hill, a long stride barely matters. On cross-country ground, it's where things go wrong. Shorten your stride and increase your turnover. A long stride on wet grass or a hidden rut is exactly where an ankle rolls or a foot loses its grip. Stay on the balls of your feet, with your cadence a touch higher than usual, and you'll hold traction on wet grass far better than you will heel-striking your way up.

Posture matters as much as stride. Lean forward from your ankles, not your waist, so your whole body tilts as one straight line and your hips stay under you. Folding at the waist squashes your chest and cuts your breathing. Look 5 to 10 metres ahead rather than at your feet — that gives you time to read the ground and pick your line early. Drive your arms back and forth with elbows bent at about 90 degrees. Short, quick arms set short, quick feet.

Where the course gives you a choice, take the firmest-looking ground, even if it isn't the shortest line to the top. Cross-country courses rarely have one true fast line up a hill the way a road does; the tangent that looks quickest is often the softest, muddiest strip on the whole climb. That's a call I make with athletes on muddy course walk-throughs, and it's one worth making before the gun goes, not mid-race. On a course you've never seen, I'd recommend walking the steepest climb first and noting where the grass is trampled flat, where the ruts sit and where the firm edge runs.

On the steepest pitches, walking is a legitimate tactic. If your running pace has dropped to little more than walking speed, a power-hike (hands pressed on your thighs, short fast steps, the same forward lean) costs you less energy and often covers the ground just as quickly. Start running again the moment the gradient eases.

One more thing worth knowing: racing flats or spikes change the calculus here. More grip, less cushioning — they'll hold a muddy hill far better than your regular trainers will, but they'll also protect your legs less over repeated efforts. Save them for race day, and train the hill in whatever you'd normally train in. Do try your spikes on a couple of short, easy sessions beforehand, so your calves and Achilles tendons get used to the lower heel.

Keeping Momentum Over the Crest

Most runners relax the moment they reach the top of a hill. You can see it happen in almost every race. That's exactly why deliberately holding your effort for another 20 to 30 seconds past the crest is where places actually get made.

This isn't about attacking the climb itself, though. Over-efforting early on a long or repeated hill burns more than it returns. The distinction I coach is simple: don't attack the hill, and don't coast the crest. Control the effort going up. Hold it once the hard part is visibly over.

Here's how I'd spend the effort. Rate how hard you're working on a 1 to 10 scale, where 1 is very easy and 10 is all-out — coaches call this RPE, or rate of perceived exertion. Climb at about 7 to 8: hard, but controlled, and you could still gasp a few words. If you're already at 9 halfway up, you started too fast and the crest will cost you.

Then keep your short, quick steps going for those 20 to 30 seconds over the top, while the ground flattens or tips downhill. Your legs will be heavy and your lungs loud. Hold the pace anyway and let your breathing settle while you're still moving at speed. Don't drop to a jog to recover. That stretch is where the runner beside you is easing off.

Build This Into Your Training

A steep hill in a race rewards practice, not luck. Hill work like this is best built through regular repeats, not raced into cold — my hill running workouts and drills page has structured sessions to build exactly this kind of strength.

To rehearse this specific skill, here's the session I'd give you. Find a grassy hill that takes 45 to 60 seconds to climb. Warm up with 10 to 15 minutes of easy running. Then run 6 to 8 repetitions uphill at RPE 7 to 8, and build the crest rule into every one: keep your effort going for 20 to 30 seconds past the top. Jog back down gently. That jog is your recovery. Finish with 10 minutes of easy running.

If you're new to hill work, start with 4 to 6 repetitions and add one every week or two until you reach 8. Do this session once a week, with an easy day before and an easy day after, so your legs are fresh enough to run the climbs properly. Every fourth week, make it a consolidation week: drop to 4 or 5 repetitions and let the build-up settle in. Do it on a hill that's similar to your race terrain whenever you can. Grass, ruts and a bit of slope sideways all teach your ankles things a tarmac hill won't.

Downhill on Cross-Country Ground

This page has focused on the climb, but downhill is part of the same hill. The same logic applies in reverse: shorter, quicker steps on grass or mud downhill mean less braking and better balance on ground you can't fully predict. I cover the full picture on downhill technique and safety on uneven ground.

A few cues I give athletes on a descent. Lean slightly forward from your ankles. Never back, because leaning back puts your weight behind your feet and sends them skidding. Land with your foot under your hips, not out in front, and don't brake with your heels. Hold your arms out a little wide, like balancing on a beam, and keep your eyes ahead rather than on the patch of mud directly below you. Quick, light, relaxed. That's how you stay upright and still pick up speed.

Get the footing right, hold your effort past the crest, and steep hills stop being the part of the course you dread. You might also find more on running in hilly terrain useful alongside this.

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