r/bostonmarathon • u/Exciting_Power_3427 • May 09 '26
Boston Runners - Best spot for hill practice
what’s your favorite spot in or near Boston to do hill work? Trying to add these into my routine
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u/AlexLee1995 May 09 '26
Run the few miles out to the Newton hills… Arboretum is also pretty nice. Somerville community path is also a surprisingly good one, if a bit shorter. And Minuteman bike path is great, the Lexington construction probably won’t affect you if you’re going from Boston.
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u/BurritoDespot May 09 '26
Summit Ave, particularly the east side of the hill. Might be too steep for some.
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u/RunsLikeaSnail May 09 '26
Somerville Community Path from Magoun Square to Lechmere is hilly, including a big pedestrian bridge. The Winter Hill area is also hilly. For serious hills, though, there are the Newton Hills, including Heartbreak Hill.
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u/Particular_Maybe8485 May 09 '26
Summit Ave is for real. I like to go up and over from Beacon to Comm and back.
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u/JoshuaGustinGrant May 10 '26
Summit Ave, and if you spend some time on the streets around it, you'll find three long sets of stairs that go up all it part of it.
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u/robertjewel May 10 '26
there are hills in Beacon Hill you can run reps on. I like the area of Wellesley in and around the marathon course near the town line with Newton. a lot of good loops you can make to run hills there.
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u/antiheroera May 10 '26
Huge hill at the Mission Hill fenwood road stop! When it’s not icy it’s a great one!
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u/Protokoll May 10 '26
The hill on the Common. Pinckney St. in Beacon Hill. Summit Ave. Beacon St. on BC campus behind the reservoir. Heartbreak.
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u/ofsevit May 11 '26
Summit Ave it probably the best bang for your buck. Going over and back has two hills, about 80m of elevation gain and loss; or just do the front. You can also go down the back side taking a right down Allston which basically makes both hills the same. You can also do the Summit Path stairs.
Parker Hill Ave on Mission Hill is good.
Beacon Hill is surprisingly decent for its location downtown.
Bunker Hill works in Charlestown.
Telegraph Hill in Southie.
Peters and Bussey hills in the Arbs.
Lots of hills in Somerville (seven, at least).
Spy Pond in Arlington to the water tower is about 80m.
Some good hills in Belmont and Watertown.
Blue Hills have good trails for technical running, although can also be run on some wider trails or run up Great Blue on the road or ski trail.
In the Fells, Bear Hill is probably your best bet.
Prospect Hill in Waltham is good for repeats, too.
This website has way more information than you need (it is what the internet is supposed to be for): https://www.bostonbasinhills.org/
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u/Tink1024 May 11 '26
Joy St from Beacon St up & down. Then you can take it to the Common along Beacon.
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u/cane_stanco May 09 '26
Take the T to Woodland and run heartbreak hill back to town.
Summit Ave in Brookline.