Downhill w forefoot strike?

[sminch]

I've been fell running for four or five months and there's one thing which I can't work out - how to run steep downhills while maintaining a forefoot / midfoot strike.

At the moment I'm having to land on my heel and roll forward because I can't figure out how to do anything else without feeling a lot of stress through my ankles. If I land on my forefoot it just seems that there's no room for that part of my leg to absorb the impact (because the heel can't drop as the ground is in the way) and there's a huge amount of force going through the ankle, as though I'm trying to shear my leg away from my foot. This means that I'm having to slow down a lot on the downhills, or land on the heels and do my knees in.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Steve

[tarren]

Landing on your toes on a steep downhill is called falling, not landing on either your toes or heels I believe is called flying.

Seriously, I cannot see how you can strike on anything but your heels and remain in control, but I too am willing to be educated.

[sbrt]

Try shortening your stride. Take short fast steps, letting your feet just kiss the ground.

[superflyguy]

It could easily be argued that landing with your (extreme) forefoot whilst descending is bad technique. I try to land fairly flat footed, thus maximizing traction and stability.

SBRT makes a good point about stride length and cadence.

might be worth digging around the interwizzle for DOWNHILL TECHNIQUES FOR OFF-ROAD RUNNERS By Keven Shevels

Chaaaaarge!!!

[noel]

might be worth digging around the interwizzle for DOWNHILL TECHNIQUES FOR OFF-ROAD RUNNERS By Keven Shevels

Having read this book, the advice is to plant the foot so that you maximise foot contact with the ground (on downhill sections). This has benefits for grip. I think it says that as a general rule this should be achieved by hanging your foot in a neutral position.

As with anything, I guess it depends on the steepness and how rough or rocky it is.

[GreenFlash]

Plenty more on this (or similar) here and here.

[Mandovark]

Also make sure that you keep your knees bent as you land.

In general, the faster you're going downhill the easier you'll find a forefoot landing - you're effectively sprinting and on a fast descent it can feel like your feet are barely touching the floor. Obviously that depends a lot on the terrain and how confident you are on the descent. If you're trying to slow yourself, you'll naturally tend to pull your hips back, which will increase the feeling of impact because you're using your feet to brake yourself. I find that descents on rough but dry terrain are easier if I'm wearing minimalist shoes that allow my feet to curve naturally around rocks, but that isn't always possible if you need shoes with more grip.

[Inov-8 Insider]

It all depends on the gradient.
If your running off lets say Fairfield/Kentmere/Skiddaw etc where you can really stride out and let fly I would plant foot mid/Forefoot.
It the terrain is desperately steep and Im trying to break or slow down its heel strike.
Basically heel striking whether its on road or fell is a braking action.

[jhb0510]

I find that the best thing to do is keep your kmees really bent and try to take small quick steps. This is not always possible in all situations but should work most of the time. It also helps wearing shoes with minimal cushioning, it concentrates the mind!

[lookmanohands]

Another one for shortening your stride, don't try and 'reach' out infront of your hips, let's your stride open out behind you. Try and squat down slightly and don't run tall. Relax your shoulders and most importantly enjoy the ride!