I got out and ran a few hill repeats yesterday. It consists of a Strava segment that's 11.5%, so that's decent.
This comes after 2 weeks of quarantine where I thought I was positive and another 10 days after I tested positive.
To put things on a more positive note, I've been reading about Everesting which has become popular during the pandemic. I think I've only read about bicycling accounts but there are a few who try it on foot. Bikes are much faster on the downhill of course and people will set up their bike especially for the effort - perhaps a single speed with disc brakes.
For running, I'd think you would want
- a long enough climb where one wouldn't have to repeat it 100 times and short enough where you wouldn't have to carry too much food and water. Repetitions in the teens would be preferable. One female cyclist in Switzerland had a route where she only did 3 repeats.
- In addition, I think you'd want it steep so the total distance wasn't up around 100 miles. I have a favorite route which climbs almost 2000' in 5k (which works out to about 90 miles).
- Then I think you would want a nice surface (not rocky) to present fewer chances to trip on the downhills
- Finally, I'd like the start (or top) of the climb to be close to where one parks the car so one can pick up supplies.
- Just one more - there should be a bathroom or something than can serve as a bathroom somewhere on the course. Running in the mountains? No problem. Running through a neighborhood? Time to get surreptitious.
- P.P.S - I don't think it is a good idea for me (maybe it is for you) to run at altitude. Otherwise I can think of a couple of routes up Mt. Baldy that climb 1k per mile.
A Strava feature - Segment Explorer - has been pretty useful for looking for venues. I search on a combination of "Running" and "Steep".
My best candidate (I think) is in the San Gabriels. I've never been on this trail (I usually go up Bailey Canyon) but - Lizzie's to Jones - looks like this:
- Total climb is 2389'. This would take 12+ repeats (I don't know the official rules well enough to say if you can do a partial repeat).
- It is steep - 24% grade. But that's the average. It starts out fairly consistently above 10%, then in the middle gets much steeper. That might be too steep, we'll see. This means a repeat is 3.76 miles. 13 repeats is just under 49 miles.
- I've never been on it so I can't comment on the surface. It's a trail. That should be good enough. Bailey Canyon - which goes up to Jones Peak on the West side of the ridge - is very reasonable with a dirt surface a lot of the time.
- It starts at a store on a city street. The city street is going uphill, but you can park your car.
- Again, I haven't been on the trail but this one may luck out and have a bathroom at the start PLUS be in the mountains.
As with a lot of climbs in the San Gabriels, Lucas Matison has the fastest time at 32:22. Heather Huggins is the fastest female at 44:54. My guess is that I'd be somewhere around 75 minutes if I got in shape, at least to the extent I can get in shape now.
The San Anas seem a little closer and I run in them more often since they are in Orange County, at least the western side. I have 2 candidates in the Santa Ana mountains that each climb about 2k.
- Silverado Motorway - Silverado Motorway is familiar to me.
- ST Climb
- The aforementioned Silverado Motorway is a nice steep, rocky trail that almost works out to 15 repetitions at a little under 2k. I can park right at the start of the trail. Parts of the trail don't climb hardly at all but other parts make up for it. I think it averages over 12%. The total distance run (very hypothetical) would be around 90 miles. I have run up the entire length recently so this at least is realistic for me. With regard to trippability, it has plenty of immovable rocks and places where your trail leg runs into your planted leg on the way forward. But I guess no steep route will allow one to sleep on the way down.
- There is a Strava segment on the eastern side named ST Climb that climbs just over 2k and averages 16.7%