Singletary ordered that a hill be made adjacent to the 49ers' practice fields. What had been a gentle slope is now padded with 2,500 tons of dirt. It takes a run of about 45 feet to get to the top — as the 49ers players will soon discover first-hand.
What does Singletary call his creation?
"Pain,'' he said Saturday before the second and final day of the 49ers' mini-camp.
Mt. Pain isn't quite ready for climbers yet, but the plan is to use it for conditioning drills. Singletary used to run hills himself during his playing days, as did Hall-of-Fame teammate Walter Payton.
The 49ers' Jerry Rice was famous for his sprint work in the hills of San Carlos.
Singletary said that athletes who trained that way "were a cut above some of the other competition around the league and had a long playing career."
"It's something you can't get in the weight room. Something you can't really get on the track,'' he said. "It builds something that's kind of a mystery."