training question: stairs vs. hills

I bump myself in hopes of some answers.

From a few Lydiard (who was big on hills) books, there are similar benefits.

I believe hills are ideal, since you can 1.) maintain a natural/less choppy stride; 2.) get a more complete stretch of the achilles/calf muscle by letting the heel drop completely to the ground.

But, in a pinch, stairs accomplish much of the strength gains of hills. In one example of a high school coach (in Florida, I think), his team had no access to hills in the area. Lydiard suggested they run a few miles to a high-rise building, run sets up the stairs, and then run back. Nothing else changed in the team's training program, and they improved significantly the following year (winning regionals and placing at state, or something to that effect).

This wasn't hill "sprints". More like hill reps in the Lydiard hill phase with hill running/springing/bounding of a few minutes at a time.

Hill sprints (a la Canova or Hudson) are to utilize the maximum number of muscle fibers possible. A 100% effort is important to accomplish this. Also, only 8-12 seconds in duration. Doing 100% maximal effort on stairs is probably a bit more difficult to accomplish.

Thanks.

Recently have been seeing folks doing stairs when there are lovely hills within blocks. Was curious why they chose the stadium route.

Liquouri suggested stadium steps when there are no hills and it is a "hill day". He was living in FLA at the time he wrote his training book.