You lucky thing - you're going to be so strong on the flat!  

My tip for attacking hills is to keep my eyes down, fixed just a few meters ahead, and pretend that it's flat, and then to treat the first bit of the downhill as recovery.  Focus on lifting your knees on the uphills, and pump your arms.  Going downhill is more of a controlled fall - relax, drop your arms by your side (still swing them, but use them for balance), engage your core, lean forward, and above all relax into it.  Common mistake going downhill is to fight gravity, and this can cause injuries.

Persevere - you'll soon get used to hills, and be a much better runner as a result.

I hate hills and only took up running a year ago ( im now 60) I joined a running club and when we go out cannot avoid hills because of where club is situated. Some of the hills are realy steep and we use them for training. i hate wasting energy on hills and used to walk them all but gradually im getting better. The trainers say take small steps and take it in stages don't look at the whole hill. At first it was run from one lampost to the next or tree or some other thing on the hill walk for a few seconds then do it again til you are at the top of hill. It does work and sometimes get up hills better than people who try to run the while thing in one go. hope that helps Brenda

make sure you do stretches after each run to avoid aches and pains. Glad you are improving your time already it is just a matter of your body getting used to route. Taek care Brenda

Like you, I live on the crest of a hill so I can't avoid slopes at all! I've learnt that running hills is not about maintaining pace, it's about maintaining effort and form.

I've not lived here long and used to dread going out for fear of the hills. But I've perservered and gotten stronger and stronger and now thrive on the challenge all hills give me. I've done a fair amount of reading on the matter as well to see how I can improve technically and I agree with all that our fellow GRGs say: when running uphill lean forward at the hips and engage your core, pull your shoulders back to open up your chest and keep your chin up (use your eyes to spot rather than your head) as this will keep your airway more open - the danger when tired going uphill is to drop your head and bend making it even harder!, pump your arms and drive the knees up to avoid dragging your feet and take smaller strides, and, finally, try to imagine driving forwards through the last push of your toes; when running downhill lean forward at the hips and engage the core, keep your chin up and shoulders back and plant your feet directly under you (on your toes if you can) - if you over-reach with your stride you're putting the brakes on which is obviously less efficient and putting your body under enormous unnecessary stress, and, finally, relax into it letting gravity do the hard work.

Good luck and enjoy those hills, you'll be a better runner for it!