Hill Training

Find a hill that's reasonably steep - around 6% grade is ideal. It should take you at least 2 minutes to run up the hill. Focus on your body position going up the hill and going down the hill. On the way up: shorten your stride slightly, increase your knee lift and arm action, and run up on your toes - getting a good push from your hips, knees and especially your ankles and toes. On the way down the hill: lengthen your stride slightly by increasing your follow-through (high foot in the back of your stride; drop your hands so they're near your hips / waist; lean down the hill; focus on landing on the midfoot or forefoot, not on your heel (which will cause a braking action and tremendously increase the impact as you run down the hill.)
Run the hill emphasizing lift off the ground. It's not as important to run fast up the hills as it is to run with good form and a powerful stride. Your heart rate should be at or near maximum when you reach the top of the hill.
After running up the hill, turn around and run down the hill. This is your recovery period, so run relaxed and allow your legs to stretch out. Allow gravity to carry you down the hill, don't accelerate when running down the hill - remember this is your recovery.


Hill Drills

Hill drills are done at a slow pace. The goal is to get lift off the ground and not to move forward at a rapid pace. Your progress up the hill should be slow. It should take up to 6 minutes to reach the top of the hill. All drills should be performed SLOWLY!
Bounding: Elongate your stride and emphasize arm action. Focus on getting off the ground. Think of jumping over puddles with a long stride.
Skipping: Skip slowly up the hill, emphasizing knee lift and arm action. Focus on getting high off the ground.
Springing: Emphasize knee lift and getting high up off the ground. Don't emphasize forward movement. Think of jumping over logs.


Most Important Factors in Preparing

The keys to successfully preparing for your first ultra-marathon are: 

1. Long Runs. Time on your feet. You need to adapt to spending long periods of time on your feet and moving forward. Longer runs (runs lasting more than 4 hours) can be broken up with walking breaks. In fact, learning to walk and then run again is a key to success in endurance running.
2. Hills! Hills! Hills! Whether your goal race is hilly or not, the more hills you do in training, the stronger you'll be and the better prepared for your ultra.
3. Middle Distance Workout. The weekend run on weeks you don't do a long run (distance weeks) is very important. If the run is around 15 miles, you'll get an excellent workout, and you'll recover quickly from it. You can run this distance as a tempo run.
4. Your Ultra Marathon Training Speed Will Be Your Racing Speed. Don't let your long runs drag on for hours. Keep your pace up. When doing your long runs, don't let your pace slow down to a shuffle.