Hill training for trail running when you live in flat Flanders

Yes, you can train hills in Flanders, even if the highest bump near you is a bridge over the canal. The secret isn't the height of your slope, but what you practise on it each time. A short climb you control, repeated again and again, makes you stronger uphill. A staircase or a step at home fills in what you miss outdoors. It pays off as soon as you head to the Ardennes: the trails there often turn suddenly and steeply uphill, and if you're used to that, you enjoy the day out for longer.

What are you actually training when you practise hills?

Uphill and downhill are two different skills, so you train them separately too. Climbing takes strength and effort you pace well. Descending takes something else: where do you put your foot, and how do you brake on loose or wet ground? Think of a staircase: going up, you feel your thighs burn; going down, you mainly have to watch where you step. A stair machine or a Scheldt bridge teaches you to climb, but not a descent along the Ourthe. ^[1]

When climbing, you choose between short repeats and longer blocks, and each puts the accent somewhere different. Short efforts on a steeper slope call for strength and a firm stride. Longer efforts on a gentler slope teach you to spread your effort over a long climb. Vary the gradient, length and pace, and keep it calmer on technical terrain with roots or stones. A warm-up, easy recovery downhill and a cool-down belong in every session. ^[1]

Where do you find height difference in Flanders?

Don't look at how many metres you can climb, but at what a place lets you practise. A short, steep slope is enough for short repeats. A long, gentle bridge ramp suits calmer blocks. The table puts the usual options side by side, with what's best to check beforehand. ^{[1] [2]}

A path on the map isn't permission to use it. That goes for terrils, nature reserves and private woods, but also for a staircase in an apartment block or a car park. Follow the signs on site, even if your app simply shows the way. If you train in the dark, choose a lit slope or a place you already know in daylight.

What do step-ups and a stair machine do, and not do?

At home and indoors you train the climbing muscles, not the terrain. A step-up is stepping onto a low, stable platform, like the bottom stair of your staircase: you put your whole foot on it, push yourself up and step back down in a controlled way. You switch the leg you start with, and stop as soon as you get tired or the movement gets sloppy. A stair machine is a good alternative when there are no mountains nearby. What you don't practise this way: wet rocks, loose stones and braking downhill. ^{[2] [4]}

Strength work like step-ups and lunges, and a backpack you make gradually heavier, belong in preparation for a trek or multi-day hike. When you run trails, you don't carry that pack as extra weight: we advise against running with a load as training. ^[2]

What a session can look like

How do you adapt it to your situation?

Just starting out, coming back after a break or a bit older? Start with brisk uphill walking. Walking up a steep slope is simply part of trail running, not a defeat. Do fewer repeats and let the step-ups at home be your first strength work. If that feels smooth after a few weeks, you can run part of the slope gently.

If you weigh a bit more, pay particular attention to the descent. Downhill, your knees and ankles absorb your weight with every step, and you often only feel it the day after. So walk gently back down instead of running, choose a slope with firm ground and change only one thing at a time. If you have joint problems, have a physiotherapist take a look first.

If you're already experienced, you get more out of variety than out of the same session over and over. Alternate short, steep repeats with longer blocks on a gentle slope, and now and then seek out real terrain to practise downhill. A stair machine or bridge gives you the repetition; a terril or a trip to the Ardennes gives you the descent you miss in the flatlands. ^[1]

Short on time or money? Then choose what's close and free. A bridge on your way to work, the stairs at a station or a step in your living room fit into half an hour, no subscription needed. If you still want to invest in something, choose shoes with enough grip for the descent first. A second-hand pair is fine, as long as the tread under the sole isn't worn out yet.

A race with elevation gain on the calendar?

Look at the elevation profile of your race, practise on a local slope that resembles it and, if you can, scout part of the course beforehand. That way you know where the climbs start and end, and you face fewer surprises on the day itself. Such a recce doesn't have to be a full race simulation: calmly looking at where the path goes and how you get back is already valuable. ^[5]

Say you've signed up for a trail with one long climb, but at home you only have a bridge you run up in half a minute. You can still practise how to hold a firm effort under control and how to recover after the top. What you can't imitate is how long that climb lasts and how the ground feels. You learn that on a trip to real terrain, or on the recce itself. So use the profile to ask the right questions, not to grind out the same number of metres of elevation at home.

A real climb as a day out: the Vertical Track in Coo

Want to feel just once what a long climb is really like? The permanently marked Vertical Track in Coo is a great goal for a day in the Ardennes. The course is 1.2 km long and has 265 metres of positive elevation gain, on a forest path alongside the chairlift up to the paragliders' zone. It's a training route, not an event, so you choose when you go. Do check beforehand that the path is accessible at that time. ^[3]

Route example from the public library. The map uses stored RouteRadar data, which may differ from the official description above because of a different calculation. Check current access separately.

You don't have to attack the whole climb in one go. If you follow the example session above, pick one recognisable stretch of 60–90 seconds and repeat it. Feel free to walk the rest: that way you get to know the terrain without the biggest elevation number dictating your training. The way down is your downhill practice, so take it easy.

When do you stop or ask for help?

How to start this week

That bridge around the corner is your first hill. Head there this week, pick your goal and discover how much climbing is hiding in the flatlands. If it leaves you wanting more, plan a Sunday in Coo or the Heuvelland and feel how your work at home carries you uphill.

Field notes · Route library