I killed Overstriding With Hill Sprints

Hill sprints; build leg muscle, increase endurance, improve running economy, fat loss... if done correctly its the perfect exercise. It will benefit any distance triathlete.

Hill sprints builds leg strength and improve running economy, it's basically like doing a series of one-legged squats one after the other. It can be used as replacement for the boring old weights room, to get some fresh air. Its easier on the knees, hips and ankles too.

Find a nearby hill with a decent incline, steep the incline the harder the workout. Make sure you warm up well with a ten minute run and perhaps some dynamic stretches too.
there are many variations to a good hill sprint session:

• short sprints: Start at the base of the hill, sprint all out at 95% effort up the hill, find a marker up the hill you can make the finish line, so you can time you runs, you want to be sprinting for about 30seconds. when you have reached the top, start walking down slowly, this is your rest period (or alternatively, rest at the top for 30 seconds and jog down to start).
• long sprints: Starting at the base of the hill you want to be sprinting for at least a minute and half to get your aerobic systems working. Starting easy, accelerate to top speed, work at about 80% effort. Rest at the finish and jog down to the start.
• mixed: look for a tree-lined hill or a hill with many lampposts, sprint to the first tree/lamppost and jog back down to the start. now sprint to the second tree/lamppost and jog down, and so on...

How many sets? Start small, hill sprints are taxing for the body, I suggest no more than two sessions a week with rest days between. Start with six sets at first, trust me you will feel it. As you feel comfortable, add more sets and alternate distance. You can even incorporate onto the end of short runs, however, make sure the hill sprint is the focus of the session. a good way to know that you have done enough is time your sprints, if your times drop by more than ten seconds, you have done enough.

Technique is important: 

• face relaxed, no crazy pain faces, head up
• chest up and shoulders down
• no side rotation of trunk or pelvis
• arms must not cross infront of the body, they must swing by your sides, 90degree bend in elbow, pump the arms hard, arms do the work in the shorter sprints
• relaxed hands, like you are holding an egg in each (weird i know)
• keep hips forward
• high knees
• footstrikes directly below the body, landing on forefoot, minimal impact, shouldnt be pounding the ground, should be light and fast footstrikes, floating on the air

Benefits:

improved running economy and mechanics, strength and power increase of all the right muscles, improve sprint speed and top speed, elimination of over striding, fat loss (its a high calorie workout), faster workout doesn't take too long, safety you can't achieve maximum limb speed that causes lots of injuries, nice butt (ladies), social with friends lots of chatting time during recoveries. 

Variations:
Sand dune hill sprints, it's hard work!
Can use steps and staircases too.
Downhill sprinting, different benefits, very good exercise for improving running cadence and economy, technique very important during these and also a good warmup.
Incorporation of  squats, pressups, ab exercises at the end of each sprint.

KAUPPINEN, T. (2007) How hill sprints make you run faster. Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching, (ISSN 1745-7513/ 39/ February), p. 11-12. http://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni39a6.htm [accessed may 31st 2012]