When most ultra-runners think about training, the focus tends to land on uphill strength, aerobic capacity, and long miles on tired legs. But ask anyone who’s spent hours grinding through a mountainous ultra: it’s not the ups that wreck you — it’s the downs.

Downhill running places incredible eccentric loads on your joints and muscles, especially the knees and quads. So much so that it can leave even well-trained athletes hobbling after just a few miles. Without downhill preparation, you significantly increase your risk for early onset of muscle fatigue, degraded form, and ultimately injury.

The good news? Downhill running is a skill you can train for. Just like any other stimulus you give it, your body will adapt if progressed properly. So, here are five effective ways to prepare for the unique demands of running downhill:

1. STRENGTHEN THE QUADS (AMONG OTHER THINGS)
The eccentric contractions required to control descents put an enormous demand on the lower body. Targeted strength training — think eccentric squats, lunges, step-downs, and Bulgarian split squats — can help build resilience. Our favorite is doing a plyometric progression of depth drops, to depth jumps, to doing them single-leg. If you’re more advanced, you can add a weight vest for extra resistance. Don’t neglect the posterior chain either; strong hamstrings, spinal muscles, and glutes can protect your quads and knees while you’re ripping it downhill.

2. PRACTICE DESCENDING ON TECHNICAL TERRAIN
Strength alone won’t save you. Downhill running requires coordination, balance, and confidence on uneven footing. Incorporate trail sessions where you specifically focus on descending. Start with shorter, controlled downhills before progressing to longer, steeper stretches. The more comfortable you become with foot placement and rhythm, the less energy you’ll waste on race day. And the more you run downhill, the more durable you will become.

3. CONDITION YOUR CORE AND STABILIZERS
Hey, back to strength training. As you descend, your core and hip stabilizers keep you upright and balanced. They also prevent unwanted lateral movement in the ankles, knees, and hips. Utilize things like side planks, single-leg balance work, abduction and adduction exercises, and hip strengthening to your routine. Don’t neglect your abdomen, and I don’t mean just doing some crunches. Trunk flexion (bending forward) and extension (sitting up tall) exercises should be done progressively, but they should also be a challenge within that ten-rep range. No more doing 100 unweighted crunches and calling it a day. A strong midsection and spinal erectors really help maintain good breathing and form throughout the race. You don’t want to be that person folding in half by the end of the day.

4. TRAIN TURNOVER
Downhills often demand a quicker cadence than flat or uphill terrain. To prepare for gradual downhills (where you can fly without much risk of beating yourself to death), drills like stride outs on gentle declines or other forms of overspeed training can help your legs adapt. Think of it as controlled falling.

5. ADJUST YOUR MECHANICS ON THE STEEPEST TERRAIN
One of the greatest skills in ultra running is the ability to offload impact or load to other muscle groups. The quads inevitably want to do the work, decelerating you on downhills. But they aren’t quite as hardy as your glutes. So on the steepest terrain, you’ll want to run with a slight quarter squat (hips pushed back) to offload some of the load to your glutes and hamstrings. Sharing the load will really help save your quads and knees much longer than your body’s default. We have our athletes do their early downhill sessions, just working on this form, before we start really smashing the downs.

Dale Sanford is the co-founder of BPC Performance, Inc. and has been coaching individuals and athletes all over the world since 2009. You can catch up with Dale @bpcperformance on IG, or listen to the Coaches on Couches Podcast. If you’d like to start your health or sports performance journey with BPC, visit Buildpeakcompete.com

By Dale Sanford, Performance Coach