Workout Wednesday: Downhill running repeats

The iconic Boston Marathon is perhaps best known for its hilly, point-to-point course from the startline in Hopkinton to the finish on Bolyston Street in downtown Boston.

Most of the attention is made of the infamous Newton hills, culminating with Heartbreak Hill about 10K from the finish, but the real story is the majority of downhill running that equates to a net drop of nearly 150m.

Boston runners know this all too well, as is evident in the hours and days after the event when walking becomes all but impossible given the amount of muscle damage inflicted on the quads and calves.

Downhill Running 101

Like anything, one way to better prepare for Boston’s downhills is to deliberately practice running downhill. Not only does downhill running improve your running form, economy and leg turnover to help you run more efficiently, but it also creates small amounts of micro-damage to the muscles most commonly used during downhill running. Through repeated training, these muscles will repair and recover in such a way that builds strength and durability to more effectively handle subsequent sessions.

How to do them

Downhill repeats are exactly the opposite of traditional uphill repeats in which you practice running hard at a faster pace when going down the hill and then rest and recover as you walk or run easy back to the top.

Find a hill of low to medium grade and run down for 30 seconds to three minutes at a hard but controlled effort. Do this several times and be sure to rest and run easy before starting the next repeat. Aim to increase the number of repeats you do over several sessions until you’re running 10-20 minutes of total downhill running.

For an easier and less structured effort, you can also increase your pace on any downhill section on one of your typical easier recovery or even long runs.

Note that this type of workout may require additional recovery time due to the damage inflicted on the muscles. Be sure to warm up and cool down before and after doing any harder effort.

Sample workouts

10 minute warm-up – 8-12 x 1 minute downhill at 10K race pace with an easy jog back to the top – 10 minute cooldown.

Warm-up – 4-8 x 2 minute downhill at half-marathon pace – cooldown

Warm-up – 4-6 x 3 minutes downhill at marathon pace – cooldown