Rocker soled shoes are the way to go for a downhill course. When I ran the second downhill leg at Hood to Coast, I tested several shoes on downhill running and the Hoka won hands down. However, lots of brands make rocker soles now so it wouldn't need to be Hokas. Basically, the rocker heel turns the downhill impact into more of a rolling motion than the "slap" of a normal shoe. At Hood to Coast, I ran 30sec/mile faster than my goal pace and had no leg soreness at all afterwards.
Fisky is the king of drawing definitive conclusions from unblinded n=1 studies where the researcher is the subject.
Most of us only have our own n=1 experience when it comes to running questions like this. With that said, Vaporflys or any foam supershoes work just fine. And in my own experience, I don't even think you need much downhill training. A steady -2% grade doesn't feel much different from running on flat ground, just faster.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
Most of us only have our own n=1 experience when it comes to running questions like this. With that said, Vaporflys or any foam supershoes work just fine. And in my own experience, I don't even think you need much downhill training. A steady -2% grade doesn't feel much different from running on flat ground, just faster.
Agreed. If you are running a downhill like Revel Mt. Charleston, where 75+% of the course is a 2-3% negative grade, don't expect a significant stress reaction in your quads, etc. If the course is more sawtooth and/or punctuated by more significant 5-6% drops (think like the start of Boston), the best bet is strength endurance training (squats, deadlifts, etc.). People don't generally prepare for downhill Comrades by doing a bunch of 20 mile downhill runs, they do it by strength training.
If you just want to get a feel for a long downhill run, use a treadmill with a negative incline setting of -3.0. If you don't have one that goes negative, slide a couple of risers under the back end of the treadmill (those 45lb rubber weight plates work great). You can download a leveler app on your phone that will tell you the downward angle if you lay your phone on the treadmill (ideally when it is OFF!). If it feels like the easiest run of your life, you're doing it right. ✌️
A buddy of mine did one of the Revel Marathons and crushed his previous PR. He didn't have access to long downhills, nor did he have a treadmill that could be adjusted down. Working with what he had, he started off with downhill strides for several weeks, and progressed to throwing on one of those weighted vest and gradually doing 200Mto 400M downhills sprints several times a week, and after long runs. It seemed to work for him. He also did a lot of running specific leg strength.
So his previous PR was on a downhill course? Otherwise no, he set a downhill PR. Check Strava GAP pace to see the real effort
I didn't realize just how accurate your statement is. My friend always argued that the difference isn't as great as you'd expect because your legs take a huge beating and pretty much everyone hits the wall around mile 20 regardless of fitness.
The GAP Strava shows per mile at Mt. Charleston is huge (generally around 15-30 seconds per mile for most miles). I also messed around with the course conversion calculator on Findmymarathon.com, and the calculator predicts dramatic time differences between a downhill course like Mt. Charleston and compared to even a flat course like Erie for the same effort.