How to Train for the Pikes Peak Ascent: A Real Guide for Runners Who Want to Reach the Summit
If you live in Colorado Springs, you likely are aware of the craziness of local athletic pursuits. Some such as multiple inclines in one day, maybe some crazy treks across several 14ers, or maybe the Pikes Peak Ascent.
Most runners hear "Pikes Peak Ascent" and picture something epic. They're right. But a lot of those same runners sign up without truly understanding what they're signing up for, and that's where things can go sideways.
I live and coach in Colorado Springs. Pikes Peak is in my backyard, and I've seen what this race does to runners who prepared well and what it does to runners who didn't. The mountain doesn't care how many half marathons you've run or how good your flat-road fitness is. It will test you in ways that a normal race simply can't.
This guide is for runners who want to do this the right way. Whether you're in the earlier stages of your running, or a seasoned runner chasing a time goal, what follows will give you the honest framework you need to train smart, stay healthy, and actually enjoy the climb.
First, Know What You're Actually Signing Up For
The Pikes Peak Ascent is a grueling 13.3-mile race from Manitou Springs, Colorado, to the 14,115-foot summit. On paper, that sounds like a half marathon. In reality, it's one of the most demanding endurance events in North America.
Elevation gain from start to summit is 7,815 feet. The race starts at 6,300 feet and finishes at 14,115 feet. The average grade across the course is 11%, and the Ascent has very few stretches that aren't going uphill.
To put that in perspective, an 11% average grade means you're essentially climbing a steep hill the entire time. Add in the altitude, the rocky terrain near the summit, and the 32 switchbacks known as the 16 Golden Stairs in the final stretch, and you've got a race that demands a completely different kind of preparation.
The Ascent can take as long, or longer, than a full flatland marathon. Many flatlanders find it takes much longer. If you live at altitude, plan on your flatland marathon time. If you don't, add at least 30 minutes to that number.
Just like you’ll have to do at the beginning of the race…start smart and easy and go from there.
1. Build Your Aerobic Base Like You're Training for a Marathon
The Pikes Peak Ascent is not just another trail run up some hills. It's not even close to a typical half marathon. If you're planning on running the Ascent only, treat it like you would a tough flatland marathon in terms of time on your feet, or hours of training. Not in all aspects, but most.
Run trails as often as you can handle it, and get in a lot of vert.
That means your weekly base matters more than almost anything else. Runners who show up undertrained, thinking their trail 10K fitness will carry them, usually find out the hard way somewhere around mile 8 that the mountain has different plans. This is essentially after Barr Camp. Nothing is easy after that in my opinion, unless you’re having the race of your life.
What does a solid aerobic base look like? Most runners preparing for the Ascent should be consistently running 30 to 50 miles per week in the 3 to 4 months leading up to the race. That doesn't mean every week needs to be a massive mileage spike. What matters is consistency. If you've been bouncing between 18-mile weeks and 40-mile weeks, your body doesn't know what to adapt to.
Build gradually. Increase your weekly mileage by no more than 10% per week, while keeping in mind a down week here and there is crucial for success. This isn't a rigid rule, but it's been a reliable guide across decades of endurance training and it works because your tendons, bones, and soft tissue adapt slower than your cardiovascular system. Respecting that gap keeps you healthy and in the game.
2. Train on Hills. Lots of Them. Steep Ones.
This is non-negotiable. You cannot train for Pikes Peak on flat roads and expect the climb to go well. Your legs, your lungs, and your mental toughness all need to be conditioned for sustained uphill effort. As well as the reality of the altitude element of the race.
If you're lucky enough to live near Pikes Peak or the Front Range, you already know where to go. Barr Trail itself is the obvious primary training grounds, and if you can get on it several times (minimum) before race day, do it. Knowing the course builds confidence and gives you a sense of pacing that no training plan can fully replicate.
Disclaimer: I don’t mean all parts of it several times each, or even simulating it entirely before the race. Just try and get to every section, but that really is hard to do. At the least, try to go to places that mimic similar grades and try and perform some different types of workouts to simulate as close to the race difficulty as close as you can.
For runners who don't have an ability to get there most weeks, even an average of once per week, here's what the official race site guidance recommends: include a treadmill routine with the treadmill set at around 12 to 15% incline. To help prepare for the 16 Golden Stairs, do step-ups on benches or vehicle bumpers at the end of some of your longer training runs. Preferably, you’d follow my strength routine designed exactly for this. You can check it out here. It’s good to follow for about 10-12 weeks leading into the race.
Hill training isn't just about getting your legs used to climbing. It's about learning to stay efficient under load. Runners who pound uphill with sloppy form and a forward crash in their stride are burning energy they don't have to spend. Work on keeping your posture tall, taking shorter steps, and driving forward through the big toe rather than clawing at the ground. Your cadence should stay relatively quick even on steep grades. This is a skill that takes time to develop, so start early.
Hill sprints are worth adding too, even for a race like this. Short, hard efforts up a steep grade once a week teach your legs to produce force quickly, which translates directly to running economy on long climbs. Trust me on this one. This is low hanging fruit at its finest. Fast running isn’t your enemy, even for preparing for long endurance efforts.
3. Respect the Altitude. Don't Guess at It.
This is where a lot of otherwise well-prepared runners run into trouble.
At the summit of Pikes Peak, there is approximately 43% less oxygen in the air than at sea level. Running at such an extreme elevation will significantly slow your pace. You may experience dizziness, brain fog, decreased motor skills, and shortness of breath.
That's not a minor inconvenience. That's a physiological reality that changes your race entirely above treeline. You can be in great shape and still feel absolutely wrecked above 12,000 feet if your body isn't adapted. Most runners are humbled by this section whether they expected it or not. I know I was. I can’t believe how “slow” my mile pace is above treeline and more importantly, how it actually feels. There was a mile my first year of this race in 2022 that was like 22 minutes. I think it was the 12th or 13th mile. Either way, I couldn’t believe it. It felt like 15 or 16 minutes in effort. Not take the above 43% reference and it starts to make more sense.
So what can you do? A few things.
First, if you can do any training runs at high altitude in the months leading up to the race, take advantage. Even a weekend trip to run in the mountains is useful, both physically and mentally.
Third, practice hiking. A lot of runners don't want to hear this, but above treeline, power hiking is often faster and more energy-efficient than running. Training on steep grades teaches you when to run and when to hike, and having that skill dialed in before race day can save you significant time and energy.
4. Strength Training Is Not Optional
I've said this before and I'll keep saying it: if you're a runner who thinks strength work is optional, you are leaving performance on the table and adding injury risk at the same time.
For Pikes Peak specifically, this matters even more than in a typical road race. The course is relentlessly uphill, the terrain is technical in sections, and your hips, glutes, and single-leg stability will be working overtime for potentially well over 3 hours or more, depending on your fitness level.
Weakness in the glutes and hips shows up quickly on steep terrain. It also shows up in your running form, which gets progressively sloppier as fatigue builds over long climbs. Strong runners maintain their mechanics deeper into a race. That translates directly into time and injury prevention.
Prioritize these in your training: Squats of at least 2 variations, single-leg step-downs and step-ups, glute bridges (weighted over time), calf raises with progressive loading, deadlifts or hip hinges, and lateral band work for hip stability. Plyometric work, like box jumps and bounding, becomes especially valuable as you get closer to race day, since it trains your legs to generate force quickly, which helps with trail running efficiency and reacting to uneven footing.
Don't wait until just a few weeks before the race to add this. Start early, be consistent, and treat it with the same respect you give your running mileage.
Try out my 6 week strength plan built specifically for the early stages of the training stint for the Ascent. You can check it out here!
5. Do Your Speed Work, Even for This Race
I know what some of you are thinking. "It's a mountain race. Why would I do speed work?"
Because speed work improves running economy, and running economy matters no matter what you're doing. Running at a more efficient stride uses less oxygen per step. At sea level, that's a nice benefit. At 13,000 feet, where every breath counts, that's significant.
Speed work also builds the kind of leg durability that makes sustained climbing more tolerable. Your fast-twitch muscle fibers get trained, your tissues become more resilient, and your overall cardiovascular ceiling goes up.
You don't need to go crazy here. One speed session per week is enough, and for Pikes Peak training, hill-focused speed work is the most transferable. Short hill sprints of 8 to 10 seconds at max effort teach explosive power. Longer hill repeats of 200 meters or more build sustained speed under load. Even short, flat sprints have value because they teach leg turnover and keep your nervous system sharp.
Balance this with the fact that your long efforts and hill mileage are the priority. Speed supports those, not the other way around.
6. Warm Up Properly Before Every Hard Session
Nobody skips the warm-up for work outs and long runs and gets away with it long-term. Heading into a hard uphill session with cold muscles is one of the faster ways to develop an overuse issue in the Achilles, knees, or hips.
Before hard runs, give yourself at least 10 to 15 minutes of easy jogging followed by dynamic movements. Leg swings, ankle circles, hip openers, and A-skip drills are all worth doing. Isometric calf pushes are a personal favorite before any hill session, because the calf is under significant load the entire time you're climbing and it needs to be properly activated before you put it to work.
On race morning, this matters even more. The start in Manitou Springs is cool and your legs will very likely be stiff. Even a 10-minute easy jog before the gun goes off will pay dividends on those first few miles of trail.
Here’s a more extensive warm-up for certain sessions during your training cycle, and some can be used on race day or out on the trails of course!
7. Nutrition and Hydration for the Climb
Running in high-altitude environments requires more calories, particularly carbohydrates, and can more easily cause dehydration. The course has eight aid stations throughout, with water, Tailwind, fruit, candy, and pretzels available. To some of you reading this, yes that may sound crazy to have candy or even pretzels. This depends on how long you’ll be out there roughly and what you prepared for. When you’re at mile 12, I’ll be honest, it’s either really tempting to take whatever or…you’re in bad shape and you just need sugar. Keep that in mind.
But don't plan to rely entirely on aid stations. Carry your own calories and fluids. This is HUGE. Practice fueling. Please. Electrolytes are also a non-negotiable part of your fluid intake. I promise. You may even want to take salt tablets with you.
To properly fuel at altitude, take frequent sips of water or electrolyte mix at least every 15 minutes. The key word there is frequent. Waiting until you feel thirsty or hungry at altitude is waiting too long. Your appetite and thirst signals are suppressed at high elevation, and by the time you feel the need, you're already behind.
Gels, chews, or whatever portable fuel you've practiced with in training are all good options. Practice your nutrition strategy on your long training runs so that you know exactly what your stomach can handle at effort. Do not try anything new on race day. Read that again. Taking in more solid carbs is up to you and training for that specifically. Not hoping it will work on race day.
One more note on hydration: the air at altitude is extremely dry. You're losing more moisture through breathing than you realize, especially once you're above treeline and the temperature drops.
8. Gear and Shoes: Make Smart Choices
Shoes matter, and not in the way most people think about them. The right shoe for Pikes Peak isn't necessarily the fastest or the lightest. Above treeline, the trail is primarily loose gravel with one short section of broken rock. All over the course though, you won’t always have solid footing on certain rocks for example, or maybe the ground isn’t solid because of recent weather.
You want something with good traction and a fit that keeps your foot feeling solid, but not too close to the toes. Even though you’re almost 100% of the time going up. Trail shoes with a rock plate are worth considering for the technical upper sections, but is not needed. Comfort is the single biggest predictor of reduced injury risk. Get fitted for a shoe that actually works with your foot shape, not just a gait category.
Mandatory gear includes a hooded, windproof, water-resistant jacket and a 12-ounce or larger refillable, sealable water bottle or hydration system. This is required. Temperatures at the start line at 7am are typically 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, while at the summit you can expect 35 to 55 degrees, not counting wind chill. Weather can change fast above treeline. Pack accordingly and don't gamble on a clear forecast.
9. Learn the Course, Especially Above Treeline
I know I’ve mentioned this already, but if you've never been on Barr Trail find a way to get on it before race day. Even a partial run to Barr Camp at mile 7 and back gives you invaluable information about pacing, terrain, and what your body does at elevation.
A section to not overlook is the 16 Golden Stairs. This final section below the summit involves the last 32 switchbacks with frequent rock step-ups of 10 to 15 inches. By this point in the race, your legs are likely to be tired, and the more technical terrain makes it difficult to maintain effort.
However, in my opinion, I don’t think this is as important as the early “W’s,” the couple miles right between Barr Camp and A-Frame, and anything above treeline. To include the 16 Golden Stairs.
Train for this specifically. Step-up work in the gym is just the start of it. You need to be able to lift heavy weights, as well as handle a lot of reps when tired. There’s 2 types of lifting that make sense here and I don’t usually say that. Again, here’s the link to sign up for 12 weeks of these workouts.
The good thing with the W’s section, is you can easily get to this to train on. It’s right next to the Incline! Not a bad way to add a little extra training btw. Either way though, getting on this section and feeling the reality of how much slower you’ll run that you think is imperative for race day readiness.
Pace strategy matters here too. The biggest mistake runners make is going out too hard in the first few miles when the trail feels runnable. Instead, bank energy early. The mountain takes it back in the final miles no matter what, so you want to arrive at treeline with something left. Do not think you’re special here. I’m sorry to say that you are not.
10. Rest, Recovery, and the Long Game
All the training in the world doesn't help if you show up to the start line broken down.
Rest days are not optional. Your body adapts and rebuilds during rest, not during the run itself. If you're constantly tired, your legs feel like lead by mile 3, or your motivation has flatlined, those are signals. Pay attention to them.
Overtraining is a real risk in mountain race prep because the combination of high-intensity hill work, long mileage, and strength training adds up quickly. Cross training, swimming, cycling, and walking recovery days all count as training. They keep your cardiovascular fitness sharp while giving your impact-bearing tissues a break.
Whether you’re a heart rate type of runner or not, pay attention to this while training at least a little bit. You may be shocked how high it gets barely running up one of these grades for like 2 minutes even. It was humbling my first time around.
Sleep is the biggest recovery tool available and most runners don't use it enough. Aim for 8 hours surrounding big training runs and workouts if possible. Of course getting that amount of sleep every night is a great idea! However, it is quite unrealistic for most people depending on their lifestyle and habits.
The other thing I'd encourage is to get a coach or at least an outside perspective on your training. Not because you can't figure it out yourself, but because we all have blind spots. A good coach sees what you can't when you're in the middle of it, and for a race as demanding as the Pikes Peak Ascent, that perspective is worth a lot. Trust me on that one.
Enjoying your whole training stint and most likely race day is more important than saving a few hundred bucks. Plus..you don’t know for certain the number of times you get to run this race in the future. Take advantage of good help when you can. I know of a few really solid coaches if for some reason you don’t feel comfortable calling me. If you do, here’s a link for a short call.
A Final Word on What Makes This Race Special
The Pikes Peak Ascent is hard. It's supposed to be. Founded in 1956, it's known as America's Ultimate Challenge, a place where legends rise and new journeys begin. There's a reason people come back year after year. Finishing this race with everything you have is a different kind of satisfaction than crossing a flat-road finish line.
But the runners who have the best experiences are the ones who respected the preparation. They trained the right way. They built their base. They strengthened their bodies. They managed their pace AND expectations. And they listened to the mountain instead of trying to beat it into submission in the first 4 miles.
Take care of your body, train with intention, and the summit will be there waiting for you.
If you want help building a training plan that actually matches your fitness level, your schedule, and this specific race, I'd love to talk. Schedule a call here: https://calendly.com/coachwilson/intro-coaching-call
Let's get you to the top. It’s worth the effort!