What Incline on a Treadmill Is Best for Road Runners?

As a road runner you enjoy the fresh air and a change of scenery on every run. But in the heat of summer or the cold of winter you may find yourself stuck on the dreaded treadmill. While treadmill running may not be able to imitate all aspects of road running, you can simulate some conditions by adjusting the incline.

  1. Keeping It Even

    • If you run on an even setting you might assume that this is the same as running on a flat stretch of road. That is the case if you run at a speed of 8 mph or slower according to Phil Latter of Runner's World. At anything faster than 8 mph, however, wind resistance becomes an issue. Running outside you need to push through the air, while on a treadmill you experience no such resistance. This makes the even setting a poor choice for faster runners, but for a slower runner looking to imitate a flat stretch of road it's the best option.

    Slightly Inclined

    • If you run faster than 8 mph then you'll need a slight incline to imitate running on flat roads. Between 8 mph and 11.2 mph a 1 percent incline is best to simulate a flat road course. But if you run faster than 11.2 mph then your best option is setting the treadmill to a 2 percent incline.

    Big Ups

    • Most road runners don't have the luxury of always running on flat surfaces the way track athletes do. This means that it's important to perform hill training. You can imitate hill training by setting your treadmill to an incline of between 4 and 8 percent. According to Olympian Pete Pfitzinger, a grade of 4 to 8 percent best imitates hills for a runner. Anything steeper than this will disturb your running form while anything less will be too easy.

    Get Down

    • What goes up, must go down. This fact applies to all objects, including runners doing hill work. To emulate running down hills Jack Daniels, the author of "Daniels' Running Formula" recommends a decline of -6 to -8 percent. Unfortunately, not all treadmills have negative incline settings.