Ideal elevation profile for downhill mile

With racing flats

Paved wrote:

With racing flats

I kinda figured that would be the case with more responsiveness. The only one that I found that looked decent that was paved was the third option The others are all gravel.

marcoss wrote:

Looking at running a downhill mile after this track season for kicks. I have been scouting out some downhill roads down into a local river valley with about ~240 feet drop over a mile. My question is; what surfacing would be ideal for this. The routes I've looked at are both gravel and paved. Secondly, ideally the slope is consistent over the mile, but I haven't quite been able to find a perfect fit for that. Here are my options by elevation profile.

https://imgur.com/a/UzI5P

Personally, I like the second one the best, but I'm open to hearing other thoughts.

run on your toes. you'll go faster and cramp up less (and be less sore the next few days)

what city do you live in? I can help scout out routes.

240'/mi drop is -4.5% and I think a little steeper would be faster. I think 5-6% is the sweet spot where it isn't too steep although it will depend somewhat on your running form.

FYI The David Torrence Downhill Mile (worth a google) dropped 200' (about 4%) and DT, probably in 4:00ish mile shape, ran 3:46 or so. that's 5.8% faster.

2nd one looks like it has the most consistent grade so I'd go with that.

Definitely road. Gravel? Seriously??

I'm really good at running downhills. Grades around 14% grade (700-750 ft drop per mile) are the fastest portions of my fast long downhills, where I've averaged 4:47 for 2.8 miles, sub-5 for 5 miles, etc as someone in my late 40s. I also dropped a 4:46 mile in a 50 miler (that I DNFed on) on a 14% downgrade.

I haven't tried a downhill mile, since I've been dealing with an injured Achilles for the past year, but I'll make a go of it at some point assuming I get healthy and get my downhill legs back. Hoping to see how close I can get to 4:00.

adsgadsfs wrote:

2nd one looks like it has the most consistent grade so I'd go with that.

Definitely road. Gravel? Seriously??

Nothing really wrong with gravel if it helps you find a better grade. Steep gravel or dirt fire roads are more common than road, though if you find a road, even better. All or almost all my Strava downhill CRs are on gravel or dirt.

zzzz wrote:

I'm really good at running downhills. Grades around 14% grade (700-750 ft drop per mile) are the fastest portions of my fast long downhills, where I've averaged 4:47 for 2.8 miles, sub-5 for 5 miles, etc as someone in my late 40s. I also dropped a 4:46 mile in a 50 miler (that I DNFed on) on a 14% downgrade.

I haven't tried a downhill mile, since I've been dealing with an injured Achilles for the past year, but I'll make a go of it at some point assuming I get healthy and get my downhill legs back. Hoping to see how close I can get to 4:00.

I think that more steep downhills like you list might help you to drop sub 5 miles, but it may be easier to race an all out mile on a slightly more gradual downhill. 4 flat pace might actually be harder on a 15% downhill than a 10% downhill, even if 5 flat pace is easier on the steeper slope.

I think you should find a hill with a 90% drop. Terminal velocity would almost guarantee a 4:00 mile.