Uphill Running and Power Hiking | Trail Running Basics

ENTER TO WIN A PATH PROJECTS OUTFIT, VALUED AT UP TO $173. TO ENTER, LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW: ''WHAT OUTFIT WOULD YOU CHOOSE IF YOU WON (1 PAIR OF SHORTS, BASELINERS, SHIRT AND HAT'' 1 WINNER WILL BE PICKED AT RANDOM BY 5/14/19. Terms and conditions

Coach Jimmy Dean Freeman breaks down the right ways to position your body for uphill running and power hiking. Trail runners of all levels often use power hiking to shift muscle group. This gives your running systems a break and makes you a stronger, better overall athlete. Learn more about your footing on uneven terrain, dealing with hills, how to position your hips, and more!

 

Uphill running and power hiking

I'm here to talk to you about uphill running. It's a little bit distinct on the trails. So on the roads you're going to find that grades are pretty consistent and your footing is decent. While on the trail you're going to have terrain that is more uneven. The grades change frequently in the middle of a run up a hill.

uphill trail running

Foot placement with trail running

You are going to be a bit more careful about your foot placement, there will be more rocks, roots and ruts to worry about when you're going uphill.

You have to worry more about your effort, less about your pace. When you run uphill, you want to be perpendicular to the horizon. As the terrain changes, you want to stay up right. Think about bringing your hips forward, when you're running and hiking. When you go up a steep grade, it might make sense to switch into a hike or even a power hike. 

What is a power hike?

It's distinct from hiking, where you are leaning forward a bit more. You are a bit more hanged over and you use your hands on your knees to kind of drive yourself up the hill. 

power hiking on a trail

One of the great things about hiking when going uphill, you are shifting muscle groups. You are giving your running systems a break. You are also getting stronger in a hiking sense, which is going to make you a better overall athlete. 

Enter to win PATH projects outfit

ENTER TO WIN A PATH PROJECTS OUTFIT, VALUED AT UP TO $173. TO ENTER, LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW: ''WHAT OUTFIT WOULD YOU CHOOSE IF YOU WON (1 PAIR OF SHORTS, BASELINERS, SHIRT AND HAT'' 1 WINNER WILL BE PICKED AT RANDOM BY 5/14/19. Terms and conditions

 

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108 comments

  • Hey, I never did see a comment on here saying who won the bundle. Did y’all ever get someone chosen? Best of luck to all!

    Ryan
  • BRIM FT 9" SHORT – STONE

    TAHOE CL 5" BASE LINER – BLACK

    CASCADE SS T – HEATHER NAVY

    ZION CAP – FROST GREY

    Ron Slangen
  • I would love to run SD100 in the following kit:

    Sykes PX 7” Shorts in black
    Tahoe CL 5” base liner in black
    TRN x Path Rockies shirt
    Big Bend trucker cap in black

    See you at the finish line!

    Antonio Carranza
  • Sykes 5" black coupled with a 3" Tahoe base, topped off with a grey Pyrenees midweight and white Muir cap!

    David Soukup
  • Love PATH shorts! The most comfortable shorts I’ve ever had.
    If I win, I’d like to get:

    GRAVES DA 7" SHORT – BLUE BLACK,
    TAHOE CL 5" BASE LINER – BLACK,
    CASCADE SS T – HEATHER NAVY,
    MUIR CAP – BLACK

    John
  • 5” shorts and liners, the hat and that baseball type shirt

    John Goldfield
  • Hat: Muir Cap – Charcoal Grey

    Shirt: Cascade SS T – Olive Grey (m)

    Baseliner – Tahoe CL 5" Base Liner Black (m)

    Short – Graves 7" DA Short – Light Grey (m)

    Matt Davis
  • Heard great things about Path and would love to try it out. Have some great trail running trips coming up this summer that would be great to test these on!

    SYKES PX 7" SHORT – JET BLACK – s
    SHASTA HX 8" BASE LINER – BLACK – s
    PYRENEES T19 LS HOODED SHIRT – BLACK (LIGHT WEIGHT) – s
    BIG BEND TRUCKER CAP – BLACK

    Brian Walters
  • Path projects is by far the best brand of running gear I’ve ever owned. I absolutely love my Billy Yang collaboration shirt. My ideal outfit would be:

    Tahoe CL 5” base liner – black – size medium
    Muir Cap – black or grey
    Skyes PX 7” short – black – medium
    Pyrenees T19 LS Hooded Shirt – size small – Heavy Navy

    Kyle Grogan
  • Shorts:
    SYKES PX 5" SHORT – OLIVE GREY
    Baseliners:
    TAHOE CL 8" BASE LINER – BLACK
    Shirt:
    CASCADE SS T – OLIVE GREY
    Hat:
    ARAPAHOE CAP – BLACK

    Igor
  • Madre Sleeveless in White – L
    Sykes Short 5” in black – M
    Tahoe Base in black – M
    Muir Cap – Black

    Ting Tang
  • Cascade ss t black large
    Sykes 5 inch short black medium
    Tahoe cl 5 inch black liner medium
    Arapahoe cap black

    Sam
  • I have some trail running/peak bagging trips planned for this summer so some new gear would be ideal. Either way, keep up the good work!

    Madre Sleeveless in Grey- L
    Sykes Short 5” in black- L
    Tahoe Base in black – L
    Muir Cap – Black

    Daniel Moncada
  • SYKES PX 7" SHORT – OLIVE GREY
    TAHOE CL 8" BASE LINER – BLACK
    CASCADE SS T – HEATHER GREY
    ZION CAP – FROST GREY

    Gary Roberts
  • Sykes 5”
    Tahoe 3”
    Cascade SS
    Muir Hat

    Brandon R
  • Prospect PX2 8” short jet black
    Tahoe CL 5” base liner frost grey
    Cascade SS T white
    Muir Cap charcoal grey

    Chris
  • CASCADE SS T – OLIVE GREY – S
    SYKES PX 5" SHORT – JET BLACK – S
    TAHOE CL 5" BASE LINER – BLACK – S
    ZION CAP – WHITE

    Matt Johnson
  • Sykes 5
    Tahoe 3
    Pyrenees
    Zion hat

    Alberto Reyes
  • Graves 7" blue black (L)
    No liner
    Cascades SS T olive grey (M)
    Muir cap charcoal grey

    Sarah
  • Tahoe CL 5" Base Liner – Black (M)
    Sykes PX 5" – Jet Black (M)
    Rockies 3/4 Raglan T – Black (L)
    Big Bend Trucker Cap – Black

    Would be PSYCHED on this!

    Ryan Page
  • Sykes PX 7" – Black – M
    Tahoe CL 8" – Black – S
    Cascade SS T – Heather Navy – S
    Muir – Black

    Joe
  • Brim short stone 30
    Tahoe 5” sm
    Madre sleeveless grey md
    Zion gray cap

    DHP
  • Sykes 5" Shorts – Jet Black (M)
    Tahoe 5" Baseliner – Black (M)
    Cascades SS Tee – Olive Grey (M)
    Muir Cap – Charcoal Grey

    Mark
  • Sykes PX 5” Short – Black (M)
    Tahoe CL 5” Base Line Black (M)
    Cascade SS T – Heather Gray (M)
    Big Bend Trucker Hat – Black

    🤘🤘

    Jay E
  • Muir Cap – Black
    Rockies 3/4 Raglan T – Grey and Black
    Tahoe CL 5” Base liner – Frost Grey
    Sykes PX 5” Short – Olive Grey
    Large in everything!

    Josh Tucker
  • SYKES PX 5" SHORT – BLACK – Medium
    TAHOE CL 5" BASE LINER – BLACK – Medium
    CASCADE SS T– HEATHER GREY – Medium
    BIG BEND TRUCKER CAP – DARK GREY

    Jon
  • Graves 7” medium black
    Cascade ss olive medium
    Tahoe cL 5” base liner black
    Big bend trucker hat grey
    !!!! Let’s goooo

    Rob Gutierrez
  • Sykes PX 7” short
    Tahoe CL 5” base liner
    Cascade SS T
    Big bend trucker! Or a new Muir cap.

    Absolutely love the clothes and they’re the only thing I wear working out now! So comfortable and such high quality that I can’t wear anything else.

    Connor
  • I’ve never tried Path so anything would be awesome to keep me going on my run streak. Currently at 3.5 years.

    Matt Millard
  • Graves 7" Blue Black size XL
    Cascade SS Olive Grey size L
    Tahoe CL 5" Base Liner size XL
    Big Bend Trucker Hat Black

    Nick
  • Tahoe CL 5" black baseliner
    Sykes PX 7" black shorts
    Cascade SS T black
    Big Bend Trucker Cap dark grey

    Paul Dlug
  • I’ve been really impressed with the stuff I have bought from Path. I think my go-to setup would be the Sykes PX 7” in jet black with the Tahoe CL 5” black liner. Up top I’d go with the Cascade SS in black and the Big Bend trucker in black.

    Daniel Perry
  • I’d pick the SYKES PX 5" SHORT as they are wonderful, the TAHOE CL 5" BASE LINER because they look wonderful, the CASCADE SS T shirt because it likely fits wonderful, and the BIG BEND TRUCKER CAP because it just looks cool.

    Thanks for the opportunity!

    Travis
  • The only thing holding me back from winning my next race is the following:
    SYKES PX 7" SHORT – FROST GREY, TAHOE CL 5" BASE LINER – FROST GREY, ZION CAP – FROST GREY, and a TRN X PATH ROCKIES T19 3/4 RAGLAN T – Heather Grey/Black to help promote the best podcast and the best running gear.

    Joel McCauley
  • Your crazy if you think I would ever be picky about Path Projects giving me a running outfit for free!!! I will take anything in a size large😊. It was awesome seeing you represented at Whoos 50k this weekend…I’m sure I would have finished way earlier if I was in your gear 👍

    Brad
  • Graves shorts in navy, Tahoe 8" liners black, and Cascade SS Olive, and Big Bend trucker cap in black. Woohoo!

    Roman Huff
  • Would be stoked with this package:

    SYKES PX 5" SHORT – OLIVE GREY – Medium
    TAHOE CL 5" BASE LINER – FROST GREY – Medium
    MADRE SLEEVELESS T – WHITE – Medium
    MUIR CAP – WHITE

    Logan
  • Prospect px2 8” black
    Tahoe cL 5” liner black
    Cascade ss T heather grey
    Big bend trucker cap black

    Chris Swenke
  • Tahoe CL 8” baseliner
    Sykes PX 7” shorts
    Pyrenees Lightweight
    Zion Cap

    Thanks!

    Rich Fela
  • Sykes PX5 shorts, Tahoe CL 5 base, Cascade SS T & Zion cap

    Jeramy
  • Prospect px2 8” black
    Tahoe cL 5” liner black
    Cascade ss T heather grey
    Big bend trucker cap black

    Ryan
  • Sykes PX 5" short – jet back
    Tahoe CL 3" baseliner
    Madre sleeveless T – Heather grey
    Big Bend trucker cap – black

    Beau
  • Sykes PX 7" shorts Black
    Cascade SS T Heather Gray
    Tahoe CL 8" Base Liner Black
    Zion Cap Frost Grey

    Mark Ballenger
  • Muir Cap – Black
    Cascade SS T in Heather Grey – Size Med
    Tahoe CL 5” base liner in Black – Size Med
    Sykes PX 7” Short in Olive Grey – Size Med

    And I’ll definitely be ready to take on Hawaii’s trails during grad school!!! YEEEEHAWW!

    Andre Nguyen
  • Great stuff ! Already regularly running in a pair of Sykes PX 7" shorts. As for the contest, i think i’d go with…

    Graves DA 7" – Blue Black
    Tahoe CL 8" – Black
    Cascade SS – Olive Grey
    Zion Cap – Frost Grey

    KC Morris
  • I like the outfit above. I’m easy

    Boris
  • I would choose the following:
    CASCADE SS T – OLIVE GREY
    GRAVES DA 7" SHORT – BLUE BLACK
    TAHOE CL 8" BASE LINER – FROST GREY
    MUIR CAP – CHARCOAL GREY

    David Johannes
  • I would choose the t shirt and hat because I already love. the base liner and shorts.

    Matthew Hoadley
  • Great stuff!

    I’d get the following:
    SYKES PX 5" SHORT – OLIVE GREY
    TAHOE CL 5" BASE LINER – BLACK
    PYRENEES MX LS HOODED SHIRT – HEATHER GREY (Mid Weight)
    MUIR CAP – CHARCOAL GREY

    Andrew
  • Love the products! Your customer service is the best! The shirt and liners are my absolute favorites!

    Graves Da 7” – blue black
    Cascade SS – heather navy
    Tahoe CL 5” – grey
    Muir cap – grey

    Chris

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