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Extreme Downhill Running

Note: I finally found a phrase that gives my web page the top hit in Google: 'extreme downhill running'. Apparently there aren't many people out there doing extreme downhill running (actually there are quite a few over in the United Kingdom, but it's called 'fell' running there).  To visit the front page of my home pages, click here. If you're looking for my 14'er reports, click here.

    Over the years, I've had various people tell me various things like 'you're crazy', 'you're a wild man', or my favorite, which was 'I've never seen anyone do that before'.  Some these exclamations came from innocent bystanders which became spectators as I hurtled down the mountain, other verifications of my 'lunacy' come from my friends. My perspective is that it is all part of the mountain experience -- about the only thing better than going up the mountain and then enjoying the view is the free trip down provided by gravity. Most people put a lot of effort into fighting gravity when they descend. I embrace gravity -- it is my friend.

    Running downhill is not so much running as fall management. For some reason, my runner friends occasionally trip and fall when running downhill -- this is not very healthy and should be avoided as much as possible. The way to avoid falling is to fall all the way down the mountain, in a controlled manner -- I call it fall management. Basically, you have to adapt your running style for the terrain. Sometimes if the grade is gentle, you just simply run downhill, keeping whatever stride is most comfortable and efficient. Steeper terrain often requires a different tactic -- shortening the stride, just like you would shift into a lower gear if you were driving down a steep hill. This provides more control and reduces the risk of overstride (which can be damaging to the joints). But your legs are moving faster, so foot placement becomes key -- in short, effective technical downhill running requires skill. Endurance is not as important. As the technicality of the trail (or off-trail) increases, skill-groups used more often in skiing become key -- balance, picking your fall line, avoiding obstacles, and managing gravity. Obviously, the risk of injury or death increases when running down 'crazy' hills. This is not a sport for the faint-hearted, and very few races even feature technical downhill runs (I only know of about 3 races that I would put into this category). It is probably best that most runners stick to trail running and hill-climbing. Even I try to limit the amount of kamikaze running I do -- but when the time is right and the slope presents itself, bonzai!

Fastest Descents

    I do not really participate in kamikaze running for the purpose of setting remarkable records, but for the sheer adrenaline rush that it gives. These PR's are simply listed because I think they are interesting. I do not make any claims to be remarkably fast, or that these descent times can't be beat -- I'm sure than anyone willing to risk blowing their knees, ankles, and the possibility of falling over cliffs and ledges could do these descents much faster than me.

    In addition, some ethics should be considered -- extreme downhill running should be avoided if it causes damage to the environment or to you! Cutting switchbacks to gain a faster time is unethical and dangerous. On occasion I have found trails where it is possible to jump from switchback to switchback (they were really short switchbacks!) and have done so, but this too is very risky. Occasionally what you think may be the next switchback below is actually a big drop-off. Also, such jumping is extremely hard on the knees and ankles -- your body will pay the price if you get too extreme (as in most sports -- a good example is mountain biking -- sure people have done some crazy things, but people have also broken bones and been killed in the attempt). On more than one occasion, I have been tearing down through the woods and almost jumped off of a 10-20 foot cliff -- obviously, you have to be smart about what you're doing. Know the course before you even attempt to run down!

    Okay, these disclaimers and warnings aside, here are my descent PR's. They are split into several groups -- peak to trailhead descents (more typical trail running), descent spurts (short descent splits on a certain route -- these are the high octane parts of the descent like scree slopes on 14'ers or particularly steep sections of trails), and finally fastest downhill runs of given lengths.

My Peak-to-Trailhead Descent PR's:

! This time includes about 10 minutes worth of breaks waiting for a friend. If I had run straight down in 0:46:00, my speed would have averaged 5.6 mph and my descent rate would have been 79 ft/min or 4761 ft/hr.

Descent spurts or splits (splits are denoted by *# with # indicating the route segment, starting from the bottom).

Distances either taken from maps, guidebooks, GPS, or estimated from mapping software. Elevation loss taken from either map or altimeter watch.

! During this run, I stopped to wait for friends at the junction at the mount of Fern Canyon, a short way before the Mesa Trail. This cut off 200-250 feet of vertical and about 0.15 miles off of the segment. 

My Fastest Downhill Runs of a Given Length:

Current Downhill Running Goals

    I'm starting to realize that my knee cartilage might be a finite quantity. I have no chronic knee problems as yet - in fact, I think my knees are in better shape than ever. But for 2006, I plan to try to go easy on my body. That doesn't mean I won't be running downhill fast -- indeed, I expect with improved fitness, I may put in some very good downhill runs. But I will be focusing more on safety and being nice to my body. I hope to break the downhill FKT for several local peaks and put in a sub 2-h descent in the Pikes Peak Marathon this year. 

World Records (if they exist) and Such Things

Fastest Downhill Mile

    There are not any world records for fastest descents that I know of, but various trail races do keep course records and often report the downhill split, so I've compiled a list of 'record' descents for given courses.

    According to an archive story from the NYTimes (April 4, 1982), the (unofficial) world record at the time for the fastest downhill mile is held by American Steve Scott who ran a timed mile of 3:32.25 in a mile race down the main street of Auckland, NZ. The course dropped 200 feet over that distance. Mike Hillardt of Australia took 2nd with 3:32.25 and Ray Lynn of Ireland third in 3:32.75.

    Superior, CO has a downhill mile race - the course record of 3:51 was set in the 2006 race by Jason Lunn (Longmont, CO). That course drops 180 feet over the mile distance.

   I'm preparing another page with some links on downhill mile "records" and downhill mile races. Apparently, the fastest downhill mile ever run was 3:24 by a 16-year old kid in the Meltham Maniac Mile near Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.

Pikes Peak Marathon: shortest descent times from official race results

    The descent portion of the course starts at the top of Pikes Peak (after the brutal ascent) and follows the Barr Mountain Trail down to Manitou Springs. The last 1.25 miles of the route follows paved roads into Manitou Springs. The downhill portion of the course has the following characteristics:

    Here are the three fastest descent splits from the Pikes Peak Marathon races held over the years:  

Some more comments on downhill running techniques and the top-10 descent splits are discussed in the Pikes Peak Forum under the topic 'training and racing' and subtopic 'downhill techniques'.

Barr Mountain Trail Race:  shortest descent times from official race results

    The descent portion of the course starts at Barr Camp (after a tough ascent) and follows the Barr Mountain Trail down to the finish line at the Cog Railway depot. The downhill portion of the course has the following characteristics:

    Here are the three fastest descent splits from the Pikes Peak Marathon races held over the years:  

Longs Peak Records -- undefined route

    A previous record for Longs Peak (by any route) was set by Roger Briggs on August 12, 1971. He ascended in 1:25:10 and descended in 0:44:30 for a total time of 2:09:40. His ascent and descent rates were +56.9 ft/min and -109.0 ft/min, respectively.

    Then, on July 26, 1979, Chris Revely set the record for quickest ascent and descent of Longs Peak from the Longs Peak Ranger Station. He took an old ranger trail (for maintaining a telephone line that went up to the Boulder Field - this line is now gone and the trail is overgrown). He probably went up a stream drainage up past Chasm Lake, then followed the Camel Route and then the Cable Route to the top. Since the lower shortcut trails are now overgrown and the Cable is gone (making the North Face a technical climbing route), this time will probably be very hard to beat in the future. I think the total vertical rise for this route is about 4850 feet! The descent was probably the reverse. Here are his times:

    Ascent           1:23:00    (+58.4 ft/min)

    Descent         0:41:30     (-116.9 ft/min)

    Round trip    2:04:30

Both of Roger Briggs and Chris Revely's descents records are spectacular examples of extreme downhill running!

    As a footnote, in 1982, Mike Sullivan set a new ascent record (Cable Route) of 1:18:31 (+61.8 ft/min).

My source for both of these records is the ranger at the Longs Peak Ranger Station, who apparently keep a book of records or record attempts. For more Longs Peak times, see Bill Wright's Long Peak FKT page.

Pikes Peak -- descent via Cog Railway

    There are rumors that someone has run down the Cog Railway line in less than 50 minutes (source; also, Jim Heidelberg, a top-5 finisher in the Pikes Peak Marathon, has reported running down in 55 min!). The Cog Railway descends 7400 ft in 8.9 miles. Assuming the 50 min time, this person would have had to averaged at least 10.55 mph.  The descent rate would be -8800 ft/hr, or -148 ft/min! The average grade is -15.8%. This doesn't sound very steep, but keep in mind that there isn't exactly a good running surface -- rails, with about 6" of semi-smooth dirt on each side. Sounds like a recipe for a trip to the emergency room.                                                             

Manitou Springs Incline

    The Incline Club (a training club in Colorado Springs) has a page about the Manitou Springs Incline (which is not open to public use). The Incline now consists of the old road bed of a cable car. It is 1.02 miles long and rises 2011 feet from the base to the top at an average grade of 40.3%. The steepest grade is a whopping 68%!

     Matt Carpenter reports that he witnessed Jambu Sherpa run down the incline in 9:45-9:55!  Assuming (for purposes of calculation) that his time was 9:50, Jambu's descent rate was a spectacular -12,271 ft/hr, or nearly -205 ft/min! At this descent rate, Jambu could run down most mountains in the world in under an hour!

Downhill Running Benefits

Article from Outside -- Downhill Bracer

Article on downhill running from the Australian Mountain Running Association

What about the Soreness?

Article from American Fitness: A Sore Subject - muscle soreness

Article from health.iafrica.com about delayed onset muscle soreness

Technique and Training

Pikes Peak Forum section on Downhill Running   

Some discussion on downhill running from runners who do Ultras

Article from the Chicago Athlete about Jump Rope training    The the plyometric nature of jump roping can be very useful for downhill running.

General article about Running Form -- The Long Run

Extreme Downhill Races

New Zealand Downhill Running Championships

Energy Cost of Running on an Incline

Abstract for article on energy costs of uphill and downhill running

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