If you are new to trail running, numbers like 500 metres or 1,000 metres of elevation gain can be a little unclear to understand.
Is 500m a lot?
Is 1,000m difficult?
And how much climbing should you expect on a 10 km, 20 km or 30 km trail run?
The answer depends heavily on the distance, steepness of the route and the terrain.
A route with 500m of climbing over 30 km can feel very different from 500m packed into a steep 8 km mountain run.
As a general rule, it is more useful to look at elevation gain relative to distance rather than elevation alone.
What Is Elevation Gain?
Elevation gain is the total amount of climbing you do during a route.
For example, if your trail run climbs:
- 100m
- then descends
- then climbs another 200m
- then climbs another 150m later
your total elevation gain would be approximately 450 meters.
The descents do not cancel out the climbing… And they’re always more fun to run.
That is why a route can start and finish at almost the same elevation while still having a large amount of elevation gain.
How Much Elevation Gain Is Considered a Lot?
There is no exact number for elevation because trail difficulty varies enormously, but this gives you a useful rough guide.
Elevation Gain by Route Distance
| Route distance | Moderate climbing | Hilly | Very hilly / mountain route |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 km | 100–200m | 200–400m | 400m+ |
| 10 km | 200–400m | 400–700m | 700m+ |
| 15 km | 300–500m | 500–900m | 900m+ |
| 20 km | 400–700m | 700–1,200m | 1,200m+ |
| 30 km | 600–1,000m | 1,000–1,800m | 1,800m+ |
| 50 km | 1,000–1,800m | 1,800–3,000m | 3,000m+ |
These numbers are only a rough guide, not fixed difficulty ratings.
Trail surface, altitude, gradient, weather and how the climbing is distributed can make two routes with identical numbers feel completely different.
Is 500m of Elevation Gain a Lot?
It depends on the distance.
500m over 5 km is a very steep route.
500m over 10 km is a fairly hilly trail run.
500m over 20 km is much more moderate.
500m over 30 km would generally not be considered especially mountainous.
This is why seeing:
Distance: 15 km
Elevation gain: 500m
tells you much more than simply seeing:
Elevation gain: 500m
Is 1,000m of Elevation Gain a Lot?
For most runners, 1,000 metres of climbing is significant.
Again, the distance matters.
A 10 km route with 1,000m of gain is a serious mountain run.
A 20 km route with 1,000m is still quite hilly.
A 50 km race with 1,000m may actually be considered relatively runnable compared with many mountain ultras.
If you are moving from road running into trail running, your first 1,000m climbing day will probably feel considerably harder than the equivalent distance on the road.
A Useful Measure: Elevation Gain Per Kilometre
Another simple way to compare routes is to divide the elevation gain by the distance.
For example:
20 km route + 1,000m climbing
works out to approximately:
50m of climbing per kilometre
As a very rough guide:
| Climbing per km | General feel |
|---|---|
| Under 20m/km | Relatively runnable |
| 20–35m/km | Rolling / moderately hilly |
| 35–50m/km | Hilly |
| 50–70m/km | Very hilly |
| 70m+/km | Steep mountain terrain |
Again, this does not tell you everything, but hopefully gives a better understanding.
A route averaging 50m/km could contain one enormous climb followed by a long descent, or constant smaller climbs throughout the run.
Looking at the elevation profile will tell you much more.
Why the Elevation Profile Matters
Total climbing is useful, but it does not tell you where the climbing happens.
Imagine two 20 km routes with 1,000m of elevation gain.
Route A
Five gradual climbs spread across the route.
Route B
Almost flat for 10 km followed by one huge 1,000m mountain climb.
They have the same distance and elevation gain, but they will feel very different.
Before a trail run or race, we recommend looking at the full elevation profile so you can see:
- where the major climbs start;
- how long they last;
- where the steep descents are;
- whether the hardest climbing comes early or late.
You can use the Map My Distance Running Route Planner to map a trail route and check its distance and elevation profile before heading out.
Elevation Can Affect Your Finish Time More Than Distance
Trail runners should be careful about comparing finish times based only on distance.
A flat 20 km run might take you two hours.
A technical 20 km mountain race with 1,500m of climbing might take considerably longer.
That is why trail race pace is often difficult to predict using normal road-running pace.
If you are preparing for an event, our guide on How to Estimate Your Trail Race Finish Time explains how elevation, terrain, aid stations and fatigue can affect your total race time.
Should You Train With Similar Elevation to Your Race?
We think this is one of the most useful ways to prepare for a hilly trail race.
If your goal event contains:
30 km + 1,800m elevation gain
you probably do not want every training run to be completely flat.
Instead, you can gradually include training routes with more climbing so your legs become accustomed to sustained ascents and descents.
You do not necessarily need to reproduce the full race every weekend.
A shorter route containing similar climbs can still provide useful race-specific training.
Our guide to planning a trail running route can help you think about distance, elevation and terrain together.
Check Your Route Before You Run
There is no single definition of “a lot” of elevation gain.
For a beginner, 400m may feel like a major climbing day.
For an experienced mountain runner, a 2,000m training route might be normal.
The important thing is to consider:
distance + elevation + terrain + gradient, together.
If you want to know how much climbing your next route contains, use the Map My Distance Running Route Planner to create the route and view its elevation profile before you run.
Frequently Asked Questions
Map My Distance is also great for:
Planning a walking route,
Getting friends to go hiking
or as a Cycling Route Planner
Or just planning any route you choose to.