Proper stance of running?

Question

proper stance of running straight,up hill; down hill,..help please

Answer 1

Your posture should always be the same (when I say always I really mean most of the time, there are extreme circumstances of course).

Read this: http://www.markrunning.com/running/mecha...

Now as far as uphill goes, turning your lower body slightly to one side while running in the same direction as you were (so you are slightly stepping over your "front" leg) will alleviate some strain on your legs.  Be sure not to always turn to the same side (I usually take 10 strides and then switch, 10 strides then switch back, etc.).

When running downhill, USE IT!  Just relax your legs and let gravity do all the work.  Pick up your knees and essentially fall down the hill one step at a time.  Since uphills generally slow you down, let the downhills speed you up.  Relaxing your legs is the key though.  When you try not to speed up while going downhill, you are applying force backwards which burns energy.  You might as well use that same energy and go faster.  Especially in races, this will really help.

Answer 2

I've been running for 8 years now. I would say that you should have an upright posture and steps would vary on the the hill decline and if you're going up or down it. The upright posture should help with lung production: oxygen intake, the ability for the upper half of the core and the overall core to go longer, etc. I was always told to tkae shorter steps/strides starting out and going up hill, longer steps/strides going downhill and basically the average of the two for flat terrain.