Posted in Blog, Featured, Performance Enhancement, Running.

February 5th, 2024

Boston Hills Training

by Alison McGinnis, PT, DPT, FAFS; Mandy Fox, PT, DPT; Coach Farah Visslailli

A certain downhill race is on the horizon in just 9 short weeks, so we want to talk about something that some of us here think does not get enough air time – downhill training.

For those toeing the line in Hopkinton in April, let us take a moment to emphasize just how important this is. It is a well known fact that the start of the Boston Marathon is notoriously downhill, but even armed with that knowledge, if you have not yet seen this hill with your own eyes, you may be in for a shock on race day. This course is not just “net downhill,” rather, it starts on a long and by some accounts, massive slope, that if you are not prepared for, will almost certainly come back to haunt you by way of your quads some miles later.

That said, try adding in a few of the exercises below to your strength training routine to maximize your ability to attack (and survive, no, THRIVE on) the downhills.

Strength Training for Downhill Races

Unlike flat race courses or those with rolling hills that many of us are used to training for, downhill courses place greater demands on our quad muscles and tendons to keep us upright when moving downhill. It makes it even more important to incorporate strength exercises that emphasize loading the quad while de-emphasizing calves and glutes as these muscles will be working less during this part of the race (but are still vital muscles to train!). This can be done by elevating the heels to mimic the downhill landing angle of the ground.

Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats

This exercise emphasizes a forward pelvis and increased loading of the standing leg muscles. It is a great place to start your downhill strength training as it should be similar to exercises already in your strength routine.
Action: holding a weight in both hands, place one foot behind you up on a box with all of your weight on the front standing leg. Squat down and reach the weight forward and down in front of your knee x5. Alternate reaching and tipping the weight vertically to each side of your knee x5. Alternate reaching and rotating the weight to each side over the front leg (horizontal) x5. Repeat on the other leg.

Decline Squats

This exercise mimics the position of the foot, ankle, and knee when running downhill. This is the first exercise that will greatly increase the load on your quad and knee, as is the next exercise to incorporate into your routine. Build up to heavier and heavier weights as tolerated with good form.
Action: stand on a slant board with toes facing down or place a book under each heel. Holding a weight in both hands, press it up until elbows are at shoulder height and elbows are bent 90 degrees. Holding this arm position, squat down while keeping chest upright and not letting elbows drop below shoulder height (think riding an elevator down), then stand back up x10.

Split Stance Decline Squats

This exercise is a progression from the decline squats above. Make sure you can perform that exercise with good form and strength first, before progressing.
Action: Stand with one foot facing down on a slant board, or with the heel elevated on a book, and the other leg back behind you in a kickstand position (this is not a lunge, keep most of your weight in the front leg to mimic running). Hold a weight in both hands at shoulder height. Squat down keeping weight in your front leg, then stand back up x10 on each side.
Variations:
- Isometric: This exercise can also be held for time at the bottom of the squat. This isometric hold is great if you’re experiencing any knee pain or want to work on the endurance of the muscle. Work up to 30-45 sec holds for 3-5 sets.
- Single leg: This exercise can also be progressed to a single leg decline squat where the back leg is held off of the ground while squatting with the front heel still elevated on the book or slant board.

Drop Squats

This exercise focuses on the landing mechanics when your foot hits the ground when going down hill. By dropping from a height, you increase the ground reaction forces and the workload on the muscles and tendons to slow you down.
Action: stand on a box (start with a short box and work up to a taller box over time). Step off of the box and land on two feet, bending the knees and absorbing the landing, and stick it. Repeat 10x. The goal is to minimize the knees and hips wobbling about.
Variations:
- This exercise can be progressed from stepping off the box to jumping off the box. From landing on two feet to landing on one foot. And jumping straight down off the box to jumping out away from the box and landing.
- This exercise can be performed in multiple directions. Remember the ground isn’t always straight and often we have to move side to side to get around other runners or things in our way, so training in different directions will make sure you’re prepared for anything on race day. Step off to the side of the box instead of forward, or turn 90 degrees to change directions off of the box before landing.

Wall Straight Leg Deadlift to Drop Lunges

This exercise requires greater coordination and change of direction, mimicking the load phase of running to the push off phase.
Action: Stand with your back facing a wall, with one foot resting on it for balance and most of your weight in the front leg. With the standing knee unlocked, hinge forward at the hips to perform a straight leg deadlift. From this bottom position, take the foot off of the wall and swing it forward as you drop into a lunge position. When you hit the ground the goal is to stop moving and hold this position steady. Then push through the now front foot to stand back up and get the foot back to the wall. If you can, immediately move into the straight leg deadlift again, connecting the two motions from hinge to lunge. Repeat 10x on each side.
Variation: Add a weight to both hands to increase the challenge. The weight and arms will reach down towards the ground during the straight leg deadlift, then will swing up to shoulder height as you move into the upright lunge.

Adjust Training for Downhill Races

The Boston Marathon course has about 830ft of elevation gain and 1275ft of elevation loss, so while the course is net downhill, you’re going to spend a lot of time climbing too. And while much of this climbing takes place in the Newton hills (16ish to 21), there are plenty of sneaky uphills throughout the first 16 miles of the course, too. You’ll want to incorporate a combination of both hard uphills AND hard downhills into your training to replicate the toughest sections of the Boston Marathon. If you’re training in NYC, here are a few great hill workouts to add to your training block:

EMPHASIS ON THE UPHILL

Manhattan: Harlem Hill Repeats

2 mile easy warm up to West Drive & 102
5x Harlem Hill repeats (up the west side, down the hill, then back) pushing hard on the uphills and easing up on the downhills for recovery (each rep is about 1 mile or a bit over)
2 mile easy cool down

Brooklyn: Battle Pass Hill Repeats

~2 mile warm up to the traffic light at the bottom of the hill, near the zoo (bonus points if you see any peacocks in the trees).
5x Harlem Hill repeats (One repeat will be to the traffic light at the top of the hill, and then recover back down to the traffic light at the bottom. Close to 1K total
2 mile easy cool down

EMPHASIS ON THE DOWNHILL

Manhattan: Harlem Hill Loop Repeats

2 mile easy warm up to East Drive & 102
4-5x Harlem Hill loops (around the top and back across 102 Transverse) running hard on the downhill and easy on the uphills
2 mile easy cooldown
[Option to flip this one to focus on hard uphills/easy downhills]

Brooklyn: Lookout Hill Loop Repeats

~2 mile warm up to the West end of Center Drive, near the 800M mark.
4-5x Run hard up the paved path (not the one in the woods) to the top. At the top, take a recovery loop around the circle at the top, then run down the way you came up also at a hard effort. Take another recovery loop at the bottom following the paved path around the dumpster and on to Center Drive, and repeat.
2 mile easy cooldown
[Option to flip this one to focus on hard uphills/easy downhills]

EMPHASIS ON THE DOWNHILL & UPHILL

Manhattan: Cat Hill Repeats

2 mile easy warm up to the Boathouse at East Drive
4x continuous running easy up Cat Hill to the stop light then hard downhill to the stop light by the Boathouse
2-3min recovery
4x continuous running hard up Cat Hill then easy downhill to recover
2 mile easy cooldown

Brooklyn: Williamsburg Bridge

2 mile easy warm up
4x continuous running easy up – the Brooklyn side is shorter and steeper, but the Manhattan side is nice and long. Try it both ways and see which one you hate less!
2-3min recovery
4x continuous running hard up then easy downhill to recover
2 mile easy cooldown

Manhattan: Central Park Loop

2 mile easy warm up to East Drive & 72nd Street
1 full park loop (10K) pushing hard on all of the uphills, foot off the gas on the downhills, and easy on flat sections
2 mile easy cool down

Brooklyn: Prospect Park Loop (the loop that comprises Center dr & Wellhouse dr)

2 mile easy warm up
4 full loops (~10K) pushing hard on all of the uphills, foot off the gas on the downhills, and easy on flat sections
2 mile easy cool down
Alternate directions as there’s good up and downhill both ways. Of course you can also do a full loop of Prospect Park and the same applies – two big hills (one loop in one direction will have one big up, one big down, and some rolling in between) – and can/should be run in both directions. Gotta switch it up and go both ways!

A LONG HILLY RUN

Palisades Interstate Park

This one is a bit of a hike to get to unless you live in Washington Heights or Northern NJ, but it’s worth the trek over the GW Bridge.

2.5ish miles to get from 168th Street & Broadway to the entrance for Palisades Park on Henry Hudson Drive (off the GWB and a left turn down a big hill)
The ranger station turnaround point in Palisades Park is about 10ish miles out from the start point straight up Henry Hudson Drive along the river, so this makes for a great 20-21 mile excursion.
Total elevation gain for the 20-21 mile out and back is about 1600ft
Bring water/fuel with you for this (bonus points for bringing a great friend with a bike to help you) because the only water fountain out there is at the ranger station.

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