Uphill only race

My husband has entered a half marathon that is ( steeply) uphill only, and thinks that perhaps I should do it with him.

There only tends to be 10-15 women enter each year so I feel no pressure to perform, last place is guarenteed. I have been training for my first marathon so am reasonably fit but don`t think this would really help with this race.

Would the correct training be;

to practice up and down on very steep hills. ( I live on the side on a mountain so this is actually feasible).

Long runs with lots of steady hills or

plenty hill rep sessions

Or forget the whole idea ?

Thoughts very welcome.

All of the above!


(I don't think it's feasible to only train uphill, as you would very quickly arrive at the top!)

I wouldn't have thought you want more than a couple of hilly ones a week unless you're prepared to do some so slowly that your heart-rate stays in the same zone as a long, slow flat run.

I'd also be very careful on the down bits as they will place a lot more stress on quads and joints than the ups. And when running up, try to get into the habit of small steps with a high cadence rather than bounding it; I also tend to focus on lifting the back foot rather than pushing off - feels a lot easier that way.

Where is this 13 mile ascent? Seems like a long way without down bits

Thanks for the tips.

link ( not working ) to race is

http://www.geiranger.no/maraton/index.php

apparently it has 250m of flat, 3 times during the race.

So not all uphill then.