- Luckily, Mark's already covered running uphill
so that just leaves me with the downhill.
Nevermind, well in this video
we're going to be tackling those descents.
(upbeat music)
In training and racing, you'll almost certainly
be faced with an incline and a decline
at some point on the run,
now descending at speed is a real skill
and if you can carry that confidence
through to you race then you'll be able
to make up significant time and you might even
be able to put in an attack on your competitors.
Including hill reps in your training
is actually pretty common, however the focus
is usually on the uphill but it is worth spending some time
concentrating on your downhill running
and it's worth being mindful of this skill,
practising , running at different speeds
on different descents, you can mix it
into your various sessions and it's especially worth it
if you know you've got a technical hilly course
coming up in your next race.
Before we look at the fastest and most efficient way
to descend, there are actually a few key points
to avoid when you're running downhill.
Now to start with, leaning too far back,
if you're doing this, you're fighting against gravity
and it's actually counterproductive.
Gravity can help you to run faster without any extra effort,
but on the other hand if you lean too far forwards,
it could all end in tears.
We'll look at cadence and foot placement later on
but if you overstride or you place your feet incorrectly,
then you can lose all your momentum
and even worse, you could risk getting injured.
Don't underestimate the effect on your leg muscles
of running downhill, it's actually more damaging
to your muscles running downhill than it is up
as your muscles are trying to contract
whilst they're lengthening which is known
as eccentric loading but don't worry you can actually find
this gets less noticeable as you practise in training.
Right it's time to look at some key points
that will help you descend with confidence and speed.
Start your descending practise on a nice small
gradual gradient, nothing too steep
so you don't pick up bad habits
and then once you've got that confidence
you can progress to something a little more challenging.
To begin with, start slowly and stay in control
to build you confidence, once you feel
you've got the technique under control
then you can start building up more speed
and make sure you do practise race pace
so your muscles can get used to that eccentric loading.
Staying focused yet relaxed is essential
for confident descending and I know it's easier
said than done but adding these sessions
into your training plan will really help.
Right, now let's look at the finer points,
when you're running on the flat and uphill
you should always have great form,
well descending is no exception
so make sure you focus on your posture
and you always engage your core.
Aim to look 10 to 15 metres
at the trails ahead of you and remain relaxed
and then with your face if you can smile
or at least just relax it as this will help
reduce any tension in your shoulders.
Try and lean from your ankles,
so imagine there's a line going from your ankles
to the top of your head but without leaning too far
so on a gradual slope, you can keep
your body perpendicular to the ground.
Focus on your cadence and taking smaller steps
as quick feet and quick contact time
will stop you from overstriding
and also prevent you from putting the brakes on.
This is the time to let gravity and momentum help you.
If you're usually a forefoot or midfoot runner
on the flats and the uphill, when it comes to downhill
it might be worth considering more of a heel strike,
especially on the steeper hills,
also try and keep your knees bent or soft
as it just helps absorb the shock through your joints.
Don't be afraid to use your arms,
let them feel free and react to the ground
and the movements below you
and this is a skill that you'll see the top fail runners
using to their advantage on those steep descents.
Running downhill frustratingly isn't always
as easy as it sounds but with a bit of practise
and start using your arms leaning away from the hill
for example, you'll be amazed at how quickly
you can actually become more efficient at it.
If you want to get more videos from GTN,
then you can subscribe by just hitting the globe
and if you want to see how to run uphill,
the video for that here,
and for some training sessions on Kenyan hills,
there's a video just here.