5 Tips to Improve your Downhill Running
One of the more technical aspects of trail running can be the downhills. While some trails have smooth, flowy single track, there’s plenty of rocky and uneven trails that require a bit more technique. When I first started trail running more, I was definitely challenged by downhill sections. I often found myself losing ground to my teammates, even at low intensity efforts. I dedicated a couple of summers to improving my downhill running through practice and intention. I am by no means the fastest downhill runner around, but it’s an area that I enjoy challenging myself on and improving. I’ve come a long way, and here are some tips that I’ve found helpful:
1. Look Ahead. You don’t need to be looking ahead the whole time. In fact, it’s good to watch where you’re placing your feet. That said, it’s good to glance forward to see what terrain and obstacles may be ahead. This is the first step in improving your downhills. You can start by doing this on trails you know well or even easier terrain. It’s about creating the habit of looking ahead on the trail to anticipate the changes in footing or slope. If you’re running with folks, space yourself out so that you can get a better sightline on the trail ahead.
2. Practice Quick Feet. Rocky terrain and more technical running challenges us to be more dynamic on our feet. This means staying in a position where our weight is on the mid- to forefoot and keeping our ankles and knees “soft”. Keeping our ankles and knees slightly bent, we can react quicker. A speed ladder can be a great tool for practicing some drills to improve your foot speed. Don’t have a ladder? You can put some tape on the ground to get the same shape. Practice running through with two feet in reach “rung”
3. Adjust Your Stride. Depending on the slope, it’s important to adjust your tempo/cadence. If it’s a more gradual trail, you can lengthen your stride out and cover a little more ground with each step. On steeper terrain, keep your feet quicker and steps shorter. Focus on maintaining a good body position rather than covering as much ground as you can on steeps. As you get more comfortable, you can also practice adjusting your stride length and cadence in a variety of terrain and find what works best for yourself.
4. Stable but Relaxed. Keep your upper body, and torso specifically, solid. This doesn’t mean flexing your abs or tensing your shoulders. Having a solid core will allow you to change directions more efficiently and smoothly. And also more stably. Think keeping your spine “tall” or extended. Draw your belly button towards your spine. While we can pay attention to this while running, you can also improve your core stability in strength with exercises like plank and deadbugs.
5. Start within your Comfort Zone. While it’s important to push your limits here and there, it’s important to begin within your comfort level. Start on familiar terrain or terrain where you feel like you’re able to run smoothly. From there, you can start to push speed, play with different cadences and find the right rhythm for yourself. Then, progress towards more technical terrain. You’ll slow down at first progressing to more challenging terrain but that’s okay. Run through the same progression you did on easier/more comfortable terrain and build from there.
Everyone can benefit from running downhills a little more efficiently and finding some recovery in that terrain. Hopefully these 5 tips can help you improve your downhill running and enjoy those parts of the trail just a bit more!
