It comes down to training, but not just any kind of training.

A downhill course is an opportunity, though not a guarantee, for a record marathon finish. For REVEL runners like Erik Ekblad, getting the right kind of training involved getting a few IOUs.

Ekblad, 40, and about 25 other runners got friends and spouses to drive them to the top of the Santa Monica Mountains and meet them at the bottom. The long stretches on hills were critical to him beating his previous personal record by about 7 minutes, finishing REVEL Canyon City in 3:15, a few seconds faster than the Boston cutoff.

"We had to beg, borrow and steal and talk our loved ones into waiting at the bottom of the hill," he laughed.

He said the course, fast as it was, taxed his muscles and joints as few others did. Others looking for a PR or Boston qualifying time would be well advised to spend as much time as possible on the hills, Ekblad said.

Ekblad's training was mainly about running an approximation of the actual course. Others spent time in the gym, strengthening glutes, hamstrings and other muscles that get a particular workout going downhill.

Veronique Carney did three long downhill training runs, squats, speed trials and TRX as part of her training for REVEL Rockies. She qualified for Boston, finishing in 3:53, a full 7 minutes ahead of the cutoff.

"If you train, you can definitely get a good time, as I did," the 51-year-old resident of Littleton, Colorado, said.

Teresa Magula, 35, beat her previous record by 6 minutes in Canyon City this year. The stay-at-home mother of two who lives in La Crescenta, California, near the Canyon City course, had run down the same mountains as much as 16 miles during training, so she had a good sense of what to expect.

With the aid of a GPS-enabled Garmin watch, she locked into a 3:25 pace for most of the course before losing a bit of speed around mile 22, when the pavement flattens out.

Based on her observations of other runners, the most common mistake was to push the speed during the first half of the course, a steep and steady downhill, without anticipating flat and even uphill sections between the middle and the finish line.

"Do not ignore the uphill even through you're going predominately downhill," Magula said. "You still need those muscles to go uphill after all of the downhill. Don't be so attached at the beginning to the quick sprint out."

Related Articles

	The Old Marathon Rules Don't Apply On These Scenic Hills Downhill courses are faster, but the way you train must change. READ MORE
	Out Here, Crowd Support May Include Moose and Deer Runners say natural beauty drew them to run in the mountains. READ MORE
	Head Games: Mastering The Mental Challenge Of The Downhill Course Sure, it may look easy, but wrap your head around the mountain. READ MORE