Running Downhill - Fast!

In a previous about Jerry Lynch, I briefly described a day about 6 months ago when I followed Jerry and several others downhill from Green Mountain in Boulder. As I talked with Jerry about that day as we celebrated his birthday I was reminded of what a unique and remarkable run that was.

For that run, about 15 of us started at the Red Lion restaurant in Boulder Canyon and headed up to the top of Green Mountain. It was a tough uphill run with the awesome reward of standing on top of Green Mountain on a beautiful fall day overlooking Boulder Valley and farther east. As they say what goes up must come down, and from where we were it was almost all down back to the start. I was having a good run uphill mostly able to keep up with Jerry and a few others. Feeling good I thought I’d try to continue that on the way down. Little did I know what I was in for!

Jerry, his son, and two women started down from Green with me behind them. I had only ever run with Jerry before, and only knew the strength of the other three from the run up. It turns out all of them are fantastic descenders as well. The first part was fairly steep and rocky and I managed to hang on to the back of the foursome. From there the trail continues as single track with a significant pitch downhill, plenty of rocks and roots to watch out for, and switchbacks thrown in to mix it all up. The other four were suddenly bombing downhill! I was actually astonished – how could they run so fast downhill. Still I was determined to keep up so I set about putting myself in learning mode, and making it quick.

They say the quickest way to learn how to descend on a bike is to follow someone downhill who is an excellent descender. I’ve heard the same for skiing. And I was going to experience this directly on a run without really even realizing what I was doing. I quickly learned long strides don’t work – too much effort on the quads, too hard to get adjust quickly as the terrain changes. So it was quick, short strides – and keeping my legs underneath my hips so there was plenty of balance. I also learned to stay loose. It’s also helpful to lean into the hill, like skiing, though quite the opposite of what we might normally think of. With the speed and terrain, you have to be able to respond and react quickly.

If I was going to keep up I had to put these new ideas into play quickly. Even as I did so, it was a challenge to keep up. I clearly remember being totally present and aware of what I was doing, if I wasn’t it was going to be a hard, uncomfortable landing somewhere. I also clearly remember having fun – I’d never run so fast downhill before! What stood out most though was feeling the edge. Even doing something I’d never done before, learning along the way, I didn’t feel like I was near an edge of what I could possibly do. It was more than I had ever done before, and still completely manageable.  

So it was, I kept up the entire way down – and what a blast! My legs were sore after that and it was all worth it to discover a new depth of what’s possible and to learn how to run downhill fast. I really liked what Jerry said though – “You kept up all the way, blasting all the way down, out of your mind and when it was all finished I saw in your face the grin of a 7 year old boy who had just been given his first new shiny red bike.” That was indeed it.

Thanks Jerry, Brennan, and the other two (sorry names escape me 6 months later) for a spectacular run!