Hill Running in South East London: Shooters Hill & Greenwich Park

Hill running is often called "strength training in disguise". Running uphill builds the calves, glutes and quads, improves running form and lets you work hard with less impact than flat sprinting. It's a brilliant complement to gym-based strength work.

• Greenwich Park: the slopes up to the Royal Observatory are short and steep, perfect for hill repeats with a view over the city
• Shooters Hill: one of the highest points in London, with long road and woodland climbs around Oxleas and Eltham Common
• Blackheath: the roads dropping down towards Greenwich and Lewisham give longer, gentler gradients for tempo efforts
• Hilly Fields and One Tree Hill: short, punchy climbs a little further west

Always check footpaths and traffic, and run in daylight on quiet roads.

Once a week, after a 15-minute easy warm-up:

• Week 1: 6 x 30 seconds hard uphill, walk or jog back down
• Week 2: 8 x 30 seconds
• Week 3: 6 x 60 seconds
• Week 4: 4 x 60 seconds (easier week)
• Week 5: 8 x 60 seconds
• Week 6: 5 x 90 seconds on a longer, gentler hill

Run tall, drive your arms and keep a steady rhythm. Finish with 10 minutes of easy running.

Hill sessions count as a hard day. Put your heavy leg session the same day or the day after, and keep the next day easy. Our coaches build hill blocks and strength programmes together for runners across Eltham, Greenwich and Blackheath.