The 3 things I Learned From Winning The Mt. Nebo Half Marathon

By Dr. Selina Sekulic

The Mt. Nebo Half Marathon is a downhill race that takes place every year at the end of August. Runners race down the gorgeous 13.1 mile course, which boasts over 3000ft of elevation loss. Needless to say the course is fast, and just about everyone goes home with a new PR. However, those huge PRs come with a price if your aren’t prepared. Below are 3 things I learned from winning the Mt. Nebo Half Marathon in a record time of 1:13. 

1. You will be sore for days following your race. This is especially true if you have avoided any sustained downhill efforts prior to this race. In my case, it was my first 13 mile run of the year, as well as my first sustained downhill effort. The eccentric muscle contractions that occur during downhill running are different than the concentric muscle contractions that occur while running uphill, or on flat surfaces. Since you are essentially performing a new exercise while running downhill, a process of adaptation must occur in order for your muscles to work optimally. Ideally this adaptation would happen before race day.

My muscle soreness set in just a few hours after the race. I could barely tackle stairs, let alone get off a chair without the assistance of my arms. My calfs and quads took the brunt of the race beating. The following day, I resorted to my favorite type of cryotherapy, tubing down the Weber River. Despite my attempts to accelerate recovery, I was forced to take 6 full days off from running. Meanwhile, I spent a lot of time on my mountain bike, and attended a couple yoga classes. 

Additionally, a few days following the race, I performed Shockwave therapy on exceptionally sore muscle fibers that were remarkably tight. Shockwave therapy is traditionally used to accelerate soft tissue healing by causing controlled microtrauma to injured tissue. The microtrauma promotes increased blood flow to the injured area and takes a number of growth factors along with it. The growth factors promote the healing cascade to occur faster than your body could typically do on its own. So rather than going for a deep tissue massage, I opted for the standard shockwave protocol for muscle adhesions. To my delight, these adhesions resolved within a couple days of therapy, as did the pain and restricted mobility. 

If you don’t have access to Shockwave equipment, there are various home remedies that you can use to mobilize soft tissue adhesions or trigger points. Voodoo flossing and rolling out sore muscles with a lacrosse ball are two of my favorites. The key is to find the areas in your muscles that feel the most tender and tight, and free up those adhesions with a bit of pressure and cross friction. 

If you are anything like me, you will have muscle soreness for days following your downhill race. Make sure you listen to your body. A period of adaptation must occur after your race in order for you to come back stronger for your next race. Be patient, the pain will subside and if you use the recovery modalities mentioned above, you will avoid any chronic injuries. 

2. When the course flattens out at mile 9, your legs will feel spent. So after cruising down Mt. Nebo for 9 miles, the course suddenly flattens out. I would argue that over the next 4 miles there might have even been a few brief “uphill” sections…at least, that is the general consensus. 

It’s important that you don’t get too frustrated when your pacing is suddenly a minute slower. Unless you race downhill routinely, this level of muscle fatigue is standard. Eccentric contractions will tire out your muscles quickly and deplete the reserves for the concentric contractions that must follow.  Nevertheless, there were a few slight downhill sections over those last 4 miles to give you a bit of renewed hope en route to a speedy finish. But be aware, they are not as steep as the miles leading up to them. 

Before I race this course again next year, I will be sure to incorporate downhill interval or tempo runs into my training. I would also suggest finishing the downhill interval or tempo work with a flat section, or even a slight uphill. This will prepare you for those tough last few miles—and your stride will look a bit fresher as you cruise through the finish line. 

3. Wear shoes without plastic toe guards. I absolutely love the energy return that my Newton MV3s provide, but they are not the best shoe for downhill half marathons. Don’t get me wrong, it was entirely my choice to wear this shoe for Mt. Nebo. However, the shoe is marketed for shorter distances (5k and below) so if you race these distances, definitely give the shoe a chance. 

That being said, the hard plastic toe guard at the front of the shoe is not conducive to any forward foot glide that will inevitably occur while running downhill. My toenails were very tender after a few miles, and there was a fair amount of care taken after the race to ensure that I didn’t lose any of the traumatized nails. 

My only other complaint with the Newton MV3s was that the insole slipped forward and bunched up in my left forefoot. This resulted in a few blisters and discomfort during the race. 

So despite the toenail pain and blisters, my feet felt great. Just as Newtons advertises, the shoes kept me running on my forefoot, which felt similar to wearing track spikes. My stride felt great (until mile 9) and I felt no soft tissue or joint pain in my feet during or after the race. I would still highly recommend Newtons for stride efficiency and awesome energy return, but just not for downhill races.