Downhill Running

[James Winzenz]

OK, as I was reading Holt's post on the pacing groups, it brought up a good point which could probably use some good discussion.  Downhill running - tips, techniques, form, etc.  I consider myself to be a pretty good downhill runner - when I ran the White Mountain 1/2, the last 3 miles were pretty steep downhill, and I was running around 6-6:30/mile - this after averaging 8:00/mile on the first 8, then slowing to a crawl on the hill to the top (2 miles).  From my own personal experience, as well as from articles I have read, the best downhill technique seems to be to relax and let the hill take you down.  Don't worry if the pace is faster than you are planning for the marathon, in fact, if you try to hold up, you run the risk of tightening your back muscles and hamstrings from the strain of pulling up.  The other bit of advice I have gotten before is don't lean back, lean forward a bit to allow gravity to help you, increase your cadence to keep your feet under you and avoid overstriding.  What are others' thoughts on these ideas, and do you have any other tips or bits of advice that can help others with running downhill (since most of St. George is downhill)?  Would it be good to organize these into an advice list for others?

[Tom]

I think the biggest thing that has helped me with the downhill running is just to do a ton of downhill running in training. As all of us know who have experienced the joy of not being able to hardly walk (especially down the stairs) after St. George Marathon, the downhill stresses a whole other group of muscles compared to normal flat running. The group I train with has what I think is a pretty good training circuit for preparing for SGM including lots of up/down running up various canyons with the emphasis more on the downhill aspect (i.e. 11-mile run down Payson Canyon most every Thursday thru the summer). Mix in a few of the downhill 1/2 marathons (Provo river, Hobble) in Utah County in August and you end up being in a great position to push hard on the downhills at SGM.

I noticed last year when I was shooting for the sub-3:20 Boston qualifier that with this training I tended to run the hills quite a bit differently than the 3:20 pace group. For the 1st 1/2 of the race I was consistently playing cat-and-mouse with the group where I would charge the downhills and pass them and then they would catch up and pass me on the uphills as they were running a more even pace. Finally at around mile 14-15 I passed them for the last time and remember telling myself "you guys won't be seeing me anymore today!!" and fortunately I was able make good.

I really noticed a difference later in the day and the next day after SGM looking at all the other runners barely able to walk and struggling down the stairs whereas I felt a little sore but with all the downhill training I think I was able to do a pretty good impression of a normal walk.

The biggest risk we've seen with all this downhill training is with potential for injury. Seems like every year 1 or 2 runners get injured coming down Payson Canyon. This year was no different as one of the guys who had been running better than ever tore his achilles tendon. Last year about 4 weeks before the marathon I tweaked my back and could hardly walk for a few days. Luckily it turned out alright for me.

I would be curious to here others thoughts on training for downhill races and ideas how to minimize the injury risk associated with downhill running. Perhaps Payson Canyon is just a bit too steep, or perhaps on the downhill runs we should slow down and save the fast running for flat speedwork/tempo sessions.

[Sasha Pachev]

I find that fast downhill running is critical to injury prevention and downhill speed. It even helps improve flat and uphill speed, I believe due to the way it rewires your brain. You have to ease into it, though - start with 1% grade strides, then make them quarters, then tempos, then make it 2%. I find that 2% downhill running in high volume is sufficient to learn to deal with steeper grades.

[Tom]

I guess maybe that's the problem with the Payson run....too many sections where I'm pretty sure the grade is >5% and perhaps much too steep for sane training.

[Brent Barney]

No doubt, great advice on running downhill.  My best St.George was preceeded by a heavy doze of running fast downhill during the summer.  It is essential to run a great St. George, take advantage of the downhill.   I have ran Bryce, Provo and Hobblecreek 1/2s this year, hopefully these downhills will payoff for St. George.  Flat landers will have trouble at St. George with no uphill on downhill running in the bank.