Updated July 2026

I used to stop my watch when I walked uphill so people on Strava would not see how slowly I was moving. I thought walking was cheating. I thought proper runners ran every step.

Then one day I was out on a long run with a club runner who is significantly faster than me and could complete a Bob Graham Round while I was still getting my kit together. She started walking up a steep hill. I was genuinely shocked. I waited until I had recovered enough breath to ask her why.

Her answer changed how I have trained ever since.

“If you can walk it quicker than you can run it, why waste the energy? You will get there just as fast.”

She was right. And once I stopped fighting the hills and started working with them, everything about my trail and ultra running improved.

Walking the Hills is Not Cheating

It is strategy.

The best endurance runners in the world walk uphills. Jasmine Paris power hikes as part of her training. Courtney Dauwalter, who has won Western States, Hardrock and UTMB in the same season, walks hills in ultras without a second thought. If it is good enough for the greatest ultra runners alive, it is good enough for the rest of us.

The key shift in mindset is this: you do not walk because you are tired. You walk to run further.

Walking a steep climb keeps your heart rate in a manageable zone, preserves the glycogen your legs will need for the miles still to come and gives you a window to eat and drink without choking on a gel mid-stride. The energy you conserve on the climb comes back to you on the descent and in the final miles when the runners who ran every step are grinding to a halt.

When to Walk and When to Run

This is the practical question, and the answer is more nuanced than simply walking everything or running everything.
For runs under ten miles on manageable terrain, I will run the uphills. It is good strength training and the fitness gains from running hills are significant. The discomfort is the point.

For anything over ten miles, particularly on technical or steep terrain, I will walk the steeper sections and run the more moderate ones. The judgement call is simple: if walking feels roughly as fast as running would be at the effort required, walk it.

For ultra distances of 30 miles and beyond, walking the majority of hills is not just acceptable, it is the right approach from the start. Runners who run every climb in an ultra are making a choice that will cost them in the final third of the race, often severely. I have watched strong runners grind to a near standstill at mile 30 of a 50-mile race because they ran hills in the first 20 miles that they should have walked.

A useful guide many experienced ultra runners use: if a race has over 4,000 metres of elevation and you expect to be out for more than six hours, plan to walk every significant climb from the start rather than waiting until fatigue forces you to.

Power Hiking — Walking Done Properly

Walking a hill efficiently is a skill in itself. Power hiking is not shuffling uphill with your head down. It is an active, purposeful movement that can cover ground almost as quickly as running the same gradient while costing significantly less energy.

Watch fell runners on a steep climb, and you will see most of them place their palms on their thighs, just above the knee, and use their arms to push themselves upward with each step. It engages the glutes and hamstrings, takes load off the quads and activates the upper body in a way that pure running does not. After a long climb using this technique, your legs feel noticeably fresher than they would after attempting to run the same gradient.

The shoes you wear on long climbing days matter more than most runners realise. A sole that grips on steep wet grass and loose rock makes power hiking significantly more confident. Our current top pick for sustained climbing terrain is the Hoka Speedgoat 7, which combines Vibram Megagrip with enough cushioning to protect your feet on long descents after sustained climbing.

The key technique points for power hiking:

Shorten your stride. Shorter, quicker steps are more efficient than long ground-covering ones on steep terrain. This also helps with balance and reduces the risk of stumbling on technical ground.

Keep your head up. I tell every runner I coach the same thing on up hills, look ahead, not at your feet. It opens your airways, gives you more warning of obstacles and, perhaps more importantly, stops the psychological drudgery of staring at the ground for thirty minutes. Looking ahead at the landscape keeps your mind in a better place.

Drive your arms. Whether running or walking, the arms drive the legs. Short, purposeful arm drives while walking uphill will make you faster without feeling any harder.

Breathe deliberately. In through the nose, out through the mouth on a climb. It keeps your heart rate lower, gives your body more oxygen and helps your mental state on a long, hard ascent. A steady breathing rhythm is one of the things that separates runners who climb well from those who do not.

Engage your glutes. Actively pushing off with your back foot and squeezing the glute at the top of each step makes a real difference on sustained climbs. It sounds like coaching jargon but try it deliberately on your next hill and you will feel the difference.

Let Go of Pace

If you are new to trail and fell running and you are still watching your pace on uphills, stop. Pace is a road metric. On trail it is irrelevant.

An easy five-mile run on road might average 8 to 8.30 per mile. The same five miles off road will be closer to 10 to 11 minute miles. A long mountain day can produce 13 to 15 minute miles across the whole effort. None of that matters. What matters is time on feet, effort managed well and finishing the distance you set out to cover.

Do not pause your watch when you walk. Do not feel the need to explain on Strava why mile six was slow. Nobody is judging. And if they are, they have never run a real mountain.

A GPS watch with grade-adjusted pace removes the psychological sting of watching your pace spike on climbs. Instead of seeing 15-minute miles, you see your equivalent flat effort, which is a much more honest reflection of how hard you are actually working. The Garmin Forerunner 970 and Fenix 8 both implement this well.

The Kit That Helps on Long Climbing Days

If you are heading out for a long day in the hills where power hiking will form a significant part of your effort, a few kit choices make a real difference.

Trail shoes with genuine grip matter more on long climbs and descents than on shorter runs. The repetitive pressure of power hiking on steep terrain demands a sole that bites. See our guide to the best trail running shoes and the best fell running shoes for current recommendations.

A well-fitted running vest for any day over three hours is worth the investment. Carrying your water, nutrition, a waterproof layer and any mandatory kit in a vest that does not bounce means you can power hike comfortably rather than constantly adjusting kit. See our best trail running vests guide for current recommendations.

A GPS watch with grade-adjusted pace changes how you manage effort on long climbing days. Grade adjusted pace shows you your equivalent flat effort on a climb, which means you can pace by feel and data simultaneously rather than watching your pace spike wildly on every hill. See our best Garmin watches for trail running for current recommendations.

Poles for very long climbing days or ultra training runs are worth considering. The energy savings on sustained climbs are real and the stability benefit on technical descents when your legs are tired is significant. See our best trail running poles guide for current recommendations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it OK to walk during a trail race?

Absolutely. Walking steep climbs during a trail race is not just acceptable, it is often the faster and smarter strategy. The runners at the front of most ultra fields walk significant portions of the climbing. There is no rule that says you must run every step, and the runners who try to often pay for it in the final miles.

How do I know when to walk versus run on a climb?

A useful rule is to walk any gradient where running would require noticeably more effort for only a small gain in speed. If power hiking feels roughly as fast as running at the effort required, walk it. On sustained climbs in ultras, most experienced runners walk anything above roughly 8 to 10% gradient.

Will walking hills make me a weaker runner?

No. Deliberately power hiking hills is part of how the strongest ultra runners train. It builds specific strength in the glutes and hamstrings, allows for higher overall training volume without excessive fatigue, and teaches pacing discipline that makes you faster over long distances.

Should I stop my GPS watch when I walk uphill?

No. Leave it running. Your average pace for the whole run is what it is, and pausing your watch to hide walking sections gives you inaccurate data and the wrong mindset. Trail running is not road running. Pace tells you very little about the quality of effort on technical or hilly terrain.

Do elite ultra runners walk hills?

Yes, consistently and without apology. Jasmine Paris, Courtney Dauwalter and virtually every elite ultra runner at UTMB, Western States and Hardrock walk significant portions of the climbing. It is not weakness, it is race craft.