[Scott Johnston]

Felix:

Thanks for writing in with your question.  The gym ME program will make your legs stronger for the uphills, but where this program really pays off is in preparing people for downhill running.  The eccentric loading in the jumping exercises helps build fatigue resistance in your legs.  Walking lunges are a great exercise for glutes and hamstrings, which will help you.  However, the gym ME does include lunges done in a more dynamic way.  with as much vertical as you have in that race, where you will be hiking steeply for much of it, I would add weighted uphill ME work as well.  If you do not have access to steep hills, you can use a stair machine in a gym to very good effect for this and for high volume unweighted aerobic volume.  Evoke coach Jack Kuenzle trains a lot this way on stair machines and holds many mountain fastest known times.

I hope this helps.

Scott