HomeProfilesPhoto GalleriesFit RacesRunners RankingBest PerformancesMy Best RunsSign Up

UjENA FIT Club 100 Interesting Running Articles

Best Road Races and the UjENA FIT Club is publishing 100 articles about races, training, diet, shoes and coaching.   If you would like to contribute to this feature, send an email to Bob Anderson at bob@ujena.com .  We are looking for cutting edge material.

Click here to read all Running Articles

Post Image
Pleasanton: The Masters of Double Racing
Posted Wednesday, February 11th, 2015
By David Prokop Pleasanton, Calif., may be a quiet, relaxed community across the bay from San Francisco, but where Double... Read Article
Post Image
Champions of the Double
Posted Monday, September 15th, 2014
Peter Mullin has taken Double Racing® by storm. He broke the 60-64 age group world record in the first Double... Read Article
Post Image
Double Racing Has Truly Arrived!
Posted Monday, September 22nd, 2014
by David Prokop (Editor Best Road Races) Photo: Double 15k top three Double Racing® is a new sport for... Read Article
Post Image
Pritz's Honor
Posted Sunday, May 11th, 2014
By David Prokop, editor Best Road Races The world’s most unusual race met the world’s most beautiful place, in the... Read Article

Share on Facebook
A word on Downhill Training
Sunday, May 13th, 2012
Downhill Training Can Improve Speed - Be Careful
Post Image

by Coach Barry Anderson  When properly executed and planned into a training program, running downhill can improve your speed. In fact, several track and field facilities across theUnited Stateshave included 100 meter or longer incline/decline lanes for training in addition to their 400 meter track and throwing areas. Be careful though—improper use of downhill training can cause injury as the stress on the legs and joints does increase based upon the grade of the decline, and running speed and form.

Comments and Feedback
run I just like running downhill and I know it helps my leg turnover...however it can be tough on the quads...
Bob Anderson 5/15/12 5:13 pm
run You do have to use some caution with downhill training. The most common mistake is too steep of a grade combined with a hard surface (road). Very gradual grassy slopes are great if you can find one that is smooth...like a golf course. Of course, that can cause an entirely different problem since runners are often not welcomed on golf courses.
Barry Anderson 5/21/12 10:18 am
,,,,,

If you do want to incorporate downhill training into your workout program, be sure to add this element gradually. It would also be recommended to begin with relatively gradual slopes of a 5%-10% grade. A 5% grade would be an elevation change of 5 yards over a distance of 100 yards (approximately a 3 degree angle).

The primary benefits of downhill training are to increase leg turnover rate and stride length. Using a gradual slope as indicated above should help keep your normal running form (not the backward lean that is often seen by runners on steeper declines) which will produce the best results. There can also be a psychological affect of “feeling faster” when running downhill. If you do plan to use this form of training, be sure to do an adequate warm-up run and a good stretching routine prior to your downhill training.

Even in a 10k race the ability to run downhill more efficiently and that extra burst of speed at the finish may give you the new personal record you have been striving for in previous races.
Dbl
Double Road Race