Running Training For Mountaineers

​Running is one of the most commonly recommended methods of training for mountaineers. For some people, it can be a fantastic option. For others, it is not something I would recommend. 
 
In this episode, I explore this subject and share my thoughts on which mountaineers should consider running and which might be better to focus on other areas of training. 

Is Running Good Training For Mountaineering? 

Episode Transcript:

[0:01] Right hello hello ladies and gentlemen so in today's episode we are talking about running training for mountaineers and ultimately answering the question do mountaineers need to be running to help improve their fitness for the mountains now fair warning as we get into this this is a topic which does drive me a little bit mental so bear with me if you hear me getting a little bit fired up, a little bit passionate about this because it's something that does get my blood boiling a little bit.

[0:32] So with that being said, let's get into it. Running can be a great method of training for mountaineering, but you don't have to be doing it. So let me explain this. If you go anywhere online, if you go into forums or articles or podcasts or whatever it may be, If you go anywhere online and look up the subject, how to get fit for mountaineering, 95% of the time, the vast majority of responses or advice is going to sort of say something like, do lots of running, or I did loads and loads of running leading into my climb and I was all good, or pick up trail running or something along those lines. And people love to recommend running as the first source of training for mountaineering.

[1:20] Now, at the top level of things, when we are looking at things purely from the technical lens, running as a method of training for mountaineering can be great. It can be a great way to develop your aerobic energy system and aerobic capacity. It works relevant muscles for mountaineering. Obviously, it's foot-based. You're putting pressure through the feet, through the ankles, through the knees, through the hips. You're building out those leg muscles, very, very relevant. And then if you're doing trail running, you even get those additional benefits of that undulating and uneven terrain, which you'll probably experience in the mountains.

[1:55] So at the top level of things, the technical level of things, this can be absolutely great. And if you're in the situation and you're listening to this and you have a background in running, so you've been running for quite a while, you do it and it's all good. And if it's something you enjoy, so you like your running, and if it's something that doesn't cause you any issues and you're like, you know, I can go out and run and I don't get into pain, I get into trouble, it's all good. If you're in that type of situation, then go for it. I fully encourage it. It can absolutely be a great method of training. I'm not trying to dissuade you. I'm not trying to say don't get away from it. If you fall into that, absolutely go for it. And in all honestly, you can probably wrap up this episode now if you're in this situation.

[2:38] However, I know there are so many people out there who don't quite fall into this.

[2:45] Even though it technically is a really good method of training, you don't have to be doing it. And in fact, there are multiple situations where I actively discourage mountaineers from running in their training. Even though technically it's awesome, there are situations where I'm like, hey, I don't think this is the best thing for you. This really kind of comes into three major situations that I see all the time. Number one is someone who just hasn't run in a long time maybe you used to run maybe you run a year or two or five years ago or 10 years ago it used to be a big part of your life or whatever may be but you haven't run in a while you haven't run in years or whatever may be and all of a sudden you're like hey i want to get fit i want to improve my fitness maybe i've got a big expedition i booked on i want to get into it and you're like you know what let's pick up running let's and you get back into it. That's okay.

[3:42] But for anyone who's getting back into running after a break and after a period, there is a risk of picking up aches and pains as you get into things. I'm not saying this will automatically happen. It doesn't happen to everyone, but it happens to a lot of people. Because realistically, the vast majority of people out there, when they're getting into running, whether they're just picking up themselves and like, hey, I'm going to go for a once or twice or three times a week, or they're following a training plan they found online, the vast majority of people just end up just doing too much too soon and get themselves into trouble. I've seen it so many times over the years, even when people are like, hey, I was good for one or two or three or four weeks, and then they get excited. They're like, yep, I'm through the hard bit. I'm just going to start pushing it. Then they get themselves into trouble or whatever it may be. It is just so common. I'm not saying it happens to everyone, but there is a risk of it.

[4:34] The second situation, so that's like if you haven't done running for a long time, I may dissuade you from say, hey, probably don't want to be picking up running in this situation. Number two is mountaineers who have a history of injuries or pains. So a lot of mountaineers out there struggle with things like foot pain or shin splints or ankle pain or knee pain or hip pain or whatever it may be. Very, very, very common in the mountaineering community.

[4:58] And as we said before, running does have a risk of flaring these things up more so compared to some other things. Running has a bit of impact and if you're doing long sustained periods of this you know it does have the risk of flaring things up and if you're a mountaineer who's trying to fit in lots and lots and lots of volume and lots and lots and lots of cardio and you already have these issues well running may not be the best option for you.

[5:22] And then the third situation is if you just don't enjoy it. Like this may sound a little bit funny to some people but I'll tell you I've talked to numerous if not dozens of mountaineers over the years and we've been talking about their training and this and that and they're like yeah i run two or three times a week i follow a program and this and that but they hate it they really don't enjoy it they dread it and they go through it and they're just like oh i've just got to do this i have to be doing this i'm dreaming of the mountains i'm just going to push through whatever may be but they're just miserable you may laugh and i'm laughing now but a lot of people do it you don't want to see if you fall into any of these situations if you haven't run in a long time and you're looking to get fit, or if you have already injuries and pains, or if you don't enjoy it, I would probably strongly urge you just to take a bit of a step back and take a look at the bigger picture in regards to all of this. If you're listening to this podcast, I'm going to make a good assumption that you're a mountaineer.

[6:22] And I'm also going to make an assumption that for 90% of the people listening to this podcast, your end goal with all of this is to get better at mountaineering. You don't care about a running race. You don't care about this. Some people may, and that's fair enough. But most people listening to this, they're like, I want to climb mountains. That's my number one priority.

[6:42] And if we're taking a step back and look at this, your training should be giving you what you need to get better at mountaineering, to enable that, to get you in the best possible spot for that without causing you issues or putting you at risk of issues or causing you not to enjoy yourself because training as much as we don't love it all the time it still should be moderately enjoyable realistically if you fall into any of these options and you're like i'm trying to improve my fitness for for mountaineering but you fall into one of those things just know there are many many many other ways you can develop your fitness for mountaineering there are many many other ways you can get incredibly conditioned and fit and ready for the mountains without doing a minute of running. And I have a lot of mountaineers I work with who never do any running at all, and they are perfectly fine.

[7:35] So with that being said, what can you be doing? Well, it's not too complicated. There are lots and lots of different options. If you're looking at a lower intensity option, so you're looking at this option where you just need to sustain for hour after hour after hour after hour, that long, slow, steady cardio, then you could look at just hiking with or without a pack, hitting the trail and just walking. It may not be quite as intense as running, but it still will do the same thing. You could look at just pack walking, putting on a pack, walking around the neighborhood, walking on the treadmill. That, again, may not be as intense as riding, but it's still very effective. You could look at cycling, whether it's popping on a bike outdoors or sitting on a stationary bike and just cruising along and turning along the legs. Cycling obviously isn't working the feet, so you don't want to do 100% of your conditioning like that, but it can be a good option for lots of hours. Works really, really well.

[8:29] Alternatively if you're looking at moderate intensity stuff so maybe you liked your running because you know what it wasn't super super super slow but you liked it because it was a little bit more challenging then you may just look at doing stair sessions or hill sessions where you're just walking up and down a set of stairs or hills with or without a pack that works really well or you may look at some longer intervals holding hopping on a bike or a rower or something like that and doing some intervals of three minutes four minutes five minutes at a time all of these are really, really good options. Or if you're looking at high intensity, if you were running and you were trying to do running sprints, or if you were trying to do hill running or something like that, and you're like, I was using my running because it really got me gassed and I felt like I was absolutely knackered. Then you could just look at doing some high intensity intervals on the bike, on the rower, on the elliptical, on the sled. There's many, many different interval structures out there, but whatever it may be, there are so many alternatives out there for running. And those alternatives will work if you follow the right workouts, the right progression, the right consistency, and the right long-term plan.

[9:30] So in summary, if you are a mountaineer and you're trying to get fit, just know you do not have to be running. If you enjoy running, if you already do it, if it works for you and it doesn't cause you any issues, absolutely go right ahead. Do it. I fully, fully, fully encourage that. But if you're aware that maybe it isn't quite right for you, don't feel pressured. Don't feel stressed if you don't want to do it or whatever it may be. Just do something else. There's so many options out there. It is perfectly fine. And the last thing I'll say on this is if you do need help with this and you're a mountaineer and you're like, I want to get fit. I was thinking about running. Didn't work for me or maybe I just don't want to go down that route. But I need help getting ready even without running. I would love to talk to you.

[10:17] I offer online personal training for mountaineers to help them get fit,

[10:21] strong, resilient for their adventures. If you want to learn a little bit more about how I go about things, how I help people with this and prepare them for their expeditions, you can go to summitstrength.com.au slash mountaineer from there there's a video on that page you can learn a little bit about our program and if it sounds like something you want to get involved with or at the very least just learn a little bit more about there's a link on that page you can book a call with our team and we can have a chat about it all so if you want to learn a little bit more go to summitstrength.com.au slash mountaineer so with that being said thank you for listening today hope you've enjoyed it hope it helps a few people out um and hopefully a few people, mountaineers out there can be feeling confident now that they can get ready for their expeditions without doing something that may not be quite right for them. So with that being said, thanks for listening. We'll talk to you very, very soon. Bye.

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