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→Why is DOMS important?
* There are some studies that indicate there are possible changes in muscle fiber recruitment patterns<ref name="Miles-1997"/><ref name="Zhou-1998"/><ref name="Zhou-1996"/>.
=Why is DOMS important?=
Because running involves a lot of eccentric stress, DOMS is common in runners, especially after [[Downhill Running]]. The pain that occurs 24-72 hours after exercise can prevent continued training. However, the biggest issue for long distance runners is that although the pain occurs 24-72 hours after exercise, the weakness peaks after 30 minutes <ref name=<ref name="Marginson-2005"/>/>. If you've ever run a long, steep descent, you'll know the strange feeling of weak numbness that pervades your quads as the effect of the downhill builds up. The Boston Marathon or the latter part of Mount Mitchell Challenge have descents that cause this type of weakness. If you've felt a similar weakness in the latter stages of a marathon, this may not be [[Glycogen]] depletion creating 'the wall', but eccentric muscle damage that will later manifest itself as DOMS. It is suggested that this is the reason the Boston Marathon course is relatively slow, even though it is a net decent.
=What does DOMS mean to you?=
There is some good news in all of this. While excessive eccentric exercise can cause DOMS, doing some eccentric exercise causes the muscles to adapt and to be able to handle eccentric exercise without DOMS <ref name="Y1"/>. There are two ways then of protecting your muscles from DOMS in running; running greater distances, or running downhill. I believe that downhill running that is greatly underutilized in training regimes. Most hill training workouts focus on the uphill segment, and relegate the downhill to recovery. While uphill can produce some benefits, it is the downhill that can provide the greatest advantage. Adding hills into your workout can make you a much stronger runner, and have benefits even on flat race courses. Don't just use the downhill to recover from the uphill, but work on the downhill.