I love downhill running. I hate uphill running 🙂 Hate is perhaps a strong word, but I need to practice it more in order to enjoy the parts that I love more: Running downhill. In all the recent mountain races I’ve run, I’ve realised that struggle to keep up on the uphill, I keep average pace on the flat parts and I normally gain a few positions on the downhills. I thought I would share a few tips and tricks I learnt during the years on how to run downhill.
How to run downhill?
Like many things, practice makes perfection, so the first tip I would like to share is to run downhill more frequent. You will become better at running downhill, by running downhill more often. Having said that, here are a few top tips to remember when running downhill.
7 tips to improve your downhill running!
- Really run when you can
When the declines aren’t so steep, really try to run fast. Think of everything you’ve learnt on how to run smooth and effortless, and push forward. This comes naturally if you simply lift your foot hire behind you. The running “wheel” comes naturally as you lean forward with a straight back, and a proud posture. The legs should go far up behind you as you sprint down hill. The more proper running position you have a run downhill, the faster and more natural it will become. - Short strides
Keeping a short stride is always important, but even more so when running downhill. Just because you have a big running wheel doesn’t mean that you should have a long stride. As you lift your foot high behind you and fly through the air down hill, try to place your foot more or less under neath you. You will get a long stride this way, but the foot doesn’t land long infront you and you quickly change leg. This way you will let the gravity help you down as you continue to run down hill in lightning speed.
If the terrain is more technical, and you can’t use the big running wheel (and the legs far behind you) then it’s also important to keep short strides but then you should let the leg work more up down like a sewing machine. This way you keep the strides short, with quick feet on the ground and a constant a good balance. - Use your arms in the fight for balance
Running fast downhill is a constant fight against balance. Something to help your side in this fight is the arms. For sure when the downhill isn’t that steep you can push through using your normal arm swing, but when the speed picks up and the struggle for balance begin I recommend to unleash your arms to take control of the fight for balance.
Don’t think about how you use the arms. Let the arms flow with your body. One goes up, one goes down. Both fly up, or one holds on to a tree in a tight turn. The possibilities are endless, but the trick is not to think about how you use them. Your arms are your bodys secret weapon in the fight for balance. - Lean forward
It’s not enough to use your legs arms. Use your whole body to both increase and decrease speed. Normally when running the advice is running push your hips and breast forward to lean the whole body forward. This apply to downhill running as well. Take control of your downhill running and increase your speed by daring to use your normal good running technique even if its downhill. - “Turn of your brain”
Perhaps a big SwEnglish, but a simple saying I believe is good to clarify the meaning of not thinking of what could happen. If you become afraid, you try to control what’s happening instead of reacting and this will make you slower and work against your natural movement. Rather go with the flow and love the movement. This is what you have been training for. - Slow down to run faster
Sometimes it can go too fast, and you start to loose the feeling of control. Then rather slow down and restart. The best way to slow down I believe is to shorten the strides even further and almost go into a squatting position. This way, your thigh will take most of the hit rather than your knees and you will quickly slow down. - Make it a reality by practicing
You will get both strong and better at running down hill if you practice on it. Don’t just use the weekly hill session to run faster up hill. Replace some of the uphill sessions, or add specific downhill sessions. When practicing downhill, take it really slow uphill to use your legs for hard downhill sessions.
Vary the downhill training in different hills to gain experience in both runnable downhill with speed, together with very technical hills where you have to practice on using your feet. Remember to also practice on simple things like, how to slow down. This will boost your confidence, and soon you will become a true master of the downhill running.
Bonus tips on how to run downhill
Bonus tips on how to run downhill for hours, when the legs start to feel tired, use your running poles also downhill. You will for sure not be able to pick up the magical speed, but a small use of the running poles downhill will help your muscles.