Distance runners gain muscle strength, stronger hearts and better knee lift with hill repeats. Author and 15 minute 5K runner shows you how to bring this muscle strengthener into your 5k running schedule. Develop the neurological pathways needed for fast running with hill training. Middle distance runners need strength and legspeed from hill repeats. All runners need strength to run fast.
Hills are great for a maximum heartrate test.
Hills running gives an excellent return for your training time. A marathon runner might use a 3 percent grade, running long hill reps. 5k and below will probably run 30-45 seconds up a steeper grade. But all runners should run a variety of hills. Use two or three different hills for your training.