Downhill tips

[newbie]

Hi all.

Any advice on running downhill?

I seem to jolt so much that my teeth rattle round in my head (not false yet). Any tips on how to 'land lightly'?

I've done some googling which advised not to heel strike but I couldnt figure out how this worked in practice - surely I need to put my heel down first to push off on my toes? If I put my toe down first am I running backwards?! or does it mean put my whole foot down at the same time?


cheers.

[scott baistow 93]

on some very stepp things it can be very hard to descend eg alva,cautley,barbon but on the things you can descend my advise would be to relax your body,lean slightly back and no over exagurated movements hope this helps

[southernsoftie]

Some good tips in this thread:

http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showthread.php?t=4918

[Pilgrim]

Some on this thread too...
http://www.forum.fellrunner.org.uk/s...6&postcount=83

[Darth domain]

i was told by someone to keep body upright, small fast strides, let feet take all the weight (no over leaning back). Tried that many times, great if you want to look good coming down a good hill, bad for stopping!!

[Donkarlo]

Look ahead and anticipate the ground coming up, point your feet downhill so you land on the front of your foot, and take small quick steps. If you want to go faster lean forward, to slow down lean back.

[CribGoch]

Small fast steps has just got to be wrong. Stride out man. Every footfall will slow you down. Someone did some videos of the best descenders and analysed stride length. The fastest had the longest stride.

Just point downhill and go for it.

[Stagger]

Downhill Running

It is said that good down hill runners are born with the ability, and that you either ‘have it’ or you don’t. That may be so, but there are not many fell runners who have been schooled in the art of descending. This is largely because there are not the coaches available who coach this specialized aspect, like all techniques good descending can be learned with practise.

What is it that makes a good descender?

1. STRONG LEGS
   In the first instance a runner must have strong legs. Rather an obvious statement really, but how many fell runners actually do specific strength training to improve leg strength away from the fell. If they do they generally build muscle strength with just endurance in mind – and on occasion’s possibly gross strength training. However, they seldom opt for elastic strength development via plyometric and drop jumps for extra power. Qualified coaches who have been on strength conditioning courses can assist in ensuring that all these aspects of training are applied in the right proportions.
2. FAST FEET
   A fell and hill runner must have good eye / foot co-ordination. A term used regularly for sprinters, is ‘fast feet’. When descending at pace over rocks and other rough ground the fell and hill runner needs to think of ‘fast feet,’ using a suitable stride length that is in keeping with the surface material. Long strides are inappropriate on tracks that have a rough undulating surface of rock and boulders. There are times when the need to react to a bad foot plant requires a light quick step to recover. If the stride is too long and committed it is very difficult to avoid trouble. Drill work of the sort used by sprinters for speed and co-ordination will help. Try some for a couple of months down at the track. The principle is similar to that the American footballers use, of rapid stepping in and out of tyres.
3. CORRECT LEAN
   Knowing the correct lean and doing it is another thing, e.g. when descending Lingmell in the Scafell race, it takes a degree of courage to let the legs go in a relaxed state of free fall. If the racer resists the fell then the leg muscles must work overtime, and produce the old ‘leg wobbles’ on the way down. The correct lean co-exists with both experience and fearlessness. Correct technique borders on recklessness but most elite descenders know exactly what they are doing - it just looks dangerous to inexperienced runners.
4. STUD CONTACT
   When descending at pace it’s important that the foot is in the plantar flexion position (foot pointing downwards) to facilitate as much contact with the ground as possible. Full stud contact helps considerably on wet grassy slopes. Less pointing is needed by those runners wearing shoes with heel spikes. Scree running is quite different. Try to keep the body straight with the heels going into the scree. A small point, but an important one, is that it’s no use wearing a pair of studs to aid descent if the studs are worn down. If the uppers are still in good condition then a new sole is a must.
5. LACTIC BUILD UP
   There are many times when a runner has a poor descent because their legs will not hold them at pace. It’s no use giving that extra push for the top only to find that the lactic build up prevents a good descent. If a runner usually picks up places on the descent, it is good coaching practice to work on this in training. If the descent is long like Ben Nevis, Snowdon, Skiddaw etc, then those runners with good descending techniques need to utilise their judgment of lactic build up on the climb in order to fully exploit their descending prowess on the way down.

[newbie]

thanks for the advise. I guess its horses for courses. Think I'll just get out and experiment.

[Big Compass]

Lean forward and move your legs quicker than you can fall over, it works but it is frightening, oh and enjoy.