Badlegitis

.......which probably has a proper name.

After a cycling holiday - lots of uphill cycling - alps / pyrenees etc, without regular cycling before hand.....

When return to proper exercise and go up a decent hill, I then come to go down a big hill and within a short time the thighs have gone completely solid ( Cramp? not sure what cramp in the thighs feels like ). It is unbelievably painful. Same happened every time I went out. Its a challenge getting off a hill with completely solid, rigidish legs.

Physio could not find nothing structurally wrong. Did get over it after a couple of weeks, stretching and building up the downhill. Stretching helps, until the next downhill.

No problems on flat / gentle undulations.

I now know of three other fell runners who have suffered the same after a cycling holiday and a return to the hills.

What is it? Cure?

Can't claim to be a medical expert; but what I remember from discussions way back in the school cross country team, running develops long slender leg muscles with short tendons / sinews, whereas cycling develops short, knotty muscles with long tendons / sinews. Hence why cyclo-cross is such a demanding discipline.

Obviously if you practice both disciplines alongside one another, as many fell runners (e.g. in particular one Robb Jebb) do then the activities can be harmonised and do compliment one another.

In your case it reads as if you've concentrated on one discipline whilst neglecting the other; switched your priorities for a few weeks then switched back again.


I'm at an age where my knees tell me they've had enough running. I use a weekly, long day out on the bike for my base / stamina fitness and only run for interval sessions, hill reps and the occasional 5 km park run. No muscle problems. Regular, on-going mixing of the disciplines appears to work.

No doubt a well qualified medic will be along shortly to correct me.