Advice on training for Hill Race would be appreciated

I am running a Hill Race in 8 weeks time.

5 miles , 6 peaks, 2400 ft of ascent.

During summer did some Half Marathons(1hr 35mins), 10 k's (42 mins),and 14 mile 'Hill' Race 2200 ft of ascent(2hrs 28 mins)

would probably not wish to run more than 30 miles a week and would manage 5 days a week of running.

Any advice or suggested reading (web sites included).

I have not been doing to much running over past couple of months.

cheers

A good website for fell running is;
http://www.fellrunning.rob-hutton.com/
(The contents menu opens up when you run your mouse over the fell running menu on the left of the page!)
I don't know Rob Hutton personally but would commend him on a fantastic site!

to train for hilly races, don't do just hill sessions(run up a hill adn walk down recoveries), try and find a hilly running route which has one exceptionally big hill in the middle, then do your run, stop at the biggest hill and do a shorter hill session on it, quite fast paces('cos faster resistance/hill running is better training) but don't push so far out of comfort zone as to be in the uncomfort zone(you still have to run home!!!

also remember that training power(such as hill sessions)also trains endurance -to an extent- but training PURELY endurance will NOT train power. that's why it's good to incorporate the hill sessions into the already hilly run(best of both worlds).

this has brought me success, and a noticible improvement, in time, comfort and the ability to make a quick pickup on the flat without lactic buildup.

also remember to make your training specific to the race you intend to run. i would tend not to race if i hadn't run the distance of it before on a training run under the same conditions as in the race(with the exception of a mara. which i haven't run).

i know i'm going on here, but you asked a question i have some experience of,

similarly, incorporate some weekly cross training into your run. i think cycling woulod be ideal. it's low impact and gives the ol' joints a break, and trains some similar muscle groups. especially the quads. try to do mountain byking, hilly cycling or off road/X-Country cycling. it's far better than the stationary bikes, which always seem a little bit false to me.

finally, keep it enjoyable. you won't want to race anymore if your training fdor it becomes a chore, you shoulc try to vary your terrain and location just to fight monotony. that different terrains/surfaces will also reduce stress on joints/tendons caused by solely running on the road.

I AM NOT EXPERIENCED ENOUGH TO SUGGEST A PROGRAMME, BUT ANYTHING I HAVE TOLD YOU HERE I HAVE FOUND FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND EXPERIMENTATION IN MY OWN TRAINING SESSIONS>

let me know how you get on,

good luck and much fun,

B_Phil

Is this the carnethy 5 hill race by any chance Stuart?

I've never done a hill race, so this is just a few thoughts - take from it what you willl at your own discretion!

From the road races I've run, I don't think I make the best of downhills. You might want to consider practising this as well as uphills. Running real hills would be good practice I guess.

cheers hill runner

Yes it is the Carnethy 5

Did it last year in 1 hr 24mins.

It was my first hill race(a btutal one to start with) and I probably was not prepared enough for it. This year would like to be better prepared.

I had better get going with the training.

Today I,m of to Arthurs seat so that is a good start I think.

cheers!

Ive done this race a few times now.
Did you do many hill races during the year?
I assume you are based in Edinburgh so the best thing to do is train over the Carnethy course in the Pentlands. Doing your long run off road and over the hills will make a difference to your stamina for this race.
You should also get in contact with the Carnethy hill running club or the Hunters Bog trotters as there will be experienced people to train with, I will try and find the contact details for these clubs and post them on this thread.

Good luck!