Downhill Running Tips for Confident Trail Running
Running downhill with confidence is something many runners struggle with. Here we will give you some running tips to help decrease your risk of injury and improve your understanding about downhill and trail running.
How does downhill running affect your body?
Running downhill increases ground reaction forces on your body which can increase your injury risk (especially if your body is not ready for those forces). This is a fancy way of saying there is more stress placed on your body when running downhill. More stress on your body occurs because when running downhill you are “falling” forward off a surface higher than the one you are falling to every time you take a downhill stride. The longer you have to "fall" (the steeper the hill), the more speed gravity will cause you to "fall" with. More speed will cause greater force through your body when you land.
Think about it this way. If you are jumping off a platform to the ground, the taller the platform is, the faster you will be going when you hit the ground. The faster you are going the more force you will hit the ground with. The more force you hit the ground with, the greater stress your body needs to be able to absorb to prevent an injury.
What muscles need to be stronger to help absorb the forces generated during downhill running to help prevent injury?
Research suggests that running down hill increase stress on your quadriceps (muscles on the front of your thigh), your tibialis anterior (muscle on the front of your shin), and your gluteal muscles/hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your legs and butt).
Increased stress on muscles can results in a few different things depending on the state your body is in:
If your muscles are strong, have good endurance, and are ready to accept the stress, they will help absorb the extra stress well and you will successfully run downhill without issue.
If your muscles are not strong or ready to accept the stress of running downhill they will either try to absorb the stress and over-work resulting in an musculature injury AND/OR they will pass more of the stress to other structures in the body (joints, tendons, and ligaments etc) putting those "passive" structures at greater risk for degeneration or injury.
How do I get my muscles and joints ready for the stress of downhill running?
Strengthen and stabilize your body/muscles with specific strengthening and stability exercises that mimic downhill running.
Build endurance in your muscles by repetitively performing these exercises with high repetitions to prepare the body for the repetitive nature of running.
Preparing your muscles for the stress they will be put under during downhill running will help them be ready to absorb the forces generated during downhill running. This will help prevent the muscles and other body structures from being overloaded and injured during downhill running.
Here is a link to one of our videos that provides examples of exercises to accomplish #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc4QXA4JsxI
Run downhill! (but start with easy downhill running).
Try low grade downhills (small hills) for short periods of time and gradually work up to steeper longer downhills. This give your muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints etc. time to build up a tolerance for downhill running stress and will help prevent injury.
How does downhill running change your running form?
Running downhill increases your impulse to land on your heels and "break" to help slow yourself down. This breaking impulse can cause you to over-stride and us and excessive heel strike which can cause increased stress on your body.
Learning to maintain a bodies natural forward lean (as opposed to leaning backwards) can help decrease this breaking impulse and improve your downhill running form.
This video linked above has a running form drill to help with this.
It is important to note that running downhill will naturally cause changes in running form which is totally normal. Landing on your heels to break and slow yourself down so you don't end up running off a ledge or into a cactus is a good thing. BUT trying to maximize your form and run confidently on the portions of a downhill run that you are able to without risking falling or injury will help decrease stress on your body.
Learn 3 key techniques you can add to your running form:
Quickly reduce injury risk. Increase your speed & efficiency
