Downhill games. Running at an angle
On the highway in Dagestan, the driver releases the handbrake, and the car rolls by itself. There would be nothing unusual in this if it were not for the direction of movement. A car with the engine turned off and without assistance is going uphill, contrary to all the laws of physics. It seems that an inexplicable force is pulling him up.
An anomalous place on one of the sections of the highway in the Buynaksky district of Dagestan was noticed by local residents for a long time. For a kilometer of this road, almost everywhere where the rise begins, you can turn off the engine and observe an amazing phenomenon.
... There are many places in the world where the laws of gravity, to put it mildly, do not apply. For example, a unique natural phenomenon has been registered in the Middle Urals. In the village of Galashki, located in the Nevyansk region, there is a stream that, contrary to all the laws of nature, flows uphill. A similar anomaly, or, according to scientists, "just an optical effect", was recorded in a mountainous area on the Chelyabinsk-Ufa highway (between Zlatoust and Satka). In the suburbs of Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, on one of the sections of a busy highway, there is its own anomalous zone. It looks like an ordinary road, but in reality it is a place where, according to local motorists who press the brakes when their car goes uphill, no laws apply.
The press repeatedly mentioned strange phenomena taking place near the Megure hill in the town of Bacau in Romania. There, in the early 90s of the last century, a large treasure was discovered - 2000 silver coins from the era of the Roman emperor Trajan. After this discovery, some unknown force began to push all foreign objects - even cars - from the foot of the hill. Metropolitan correspondents sent to investigate spoke of their experience: “The hood of the car lifted as if from the action of a mighty underground spring, and the car drove back to the top of the hill!” Local old-timers claim that a mysterious blue flame appears from time to time on the hill (whose name can be translated from Romanian as “mound”).
The actual repetition of anomalous phenomena in Romania is also observed in Israel. Eyewitnesses claim that near Beit Shemesh, water also rises up the slope. One of the tourists, having heard a lot of stories about such a phenomenon, decided to conduct an experiment: he stopped the car on this mountain, put it in “neutral” and released the brake. Contrary to expectations, the car rolled up. This anomaly is observed along the entire length of the highway, approximately 800 meters, up to the intersection of this road with the main highway.
Somehow, eyewitnesses cannot explain such phenomena, but they report that this place is unusual - it is associated with the loss of the Ark of the Covenant. It was in these places that the Jews lost a rather large chest with stone tablets, where the 10 commandments were inscribed.
Another anomalous section of the road, shrouded in mystical secrets, is located in Israel near the hill of Megido, where, according to the Revelation of John the Theologian, the last battle of Light and Darkness - Armageddon - should take place. And, finally, the third section, where an unknown force pulls objects up, was recorded in the Kidron Valley. From here, according to the Bible, the terrible judgment will begin
Monument in the form of a magnetic horseshoe
The Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia has compiled an overview of some places in the world; known for their supernatural anomalies in the field of gravity. On the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, there is a so-called Magnetic Hill, where the exiting cars slow down and start rolling up! Locals seriously say that these are the tricks of the "little people" pushing cars up the slope text.
A similar hill called Electric Brae is in the southwest of Scotland in Ayrshire. Along the highway A719 for motorists, passing along the hill, special signs were put up and even a massive stone pyramid was installed, on which a warning about an anomalous phenomenon was carved.
Among other things, from the text on the granite monument, you can learn that during World War II, the legendary General Dwight Eisenhower visited Electric Brae, who wished to personally get acquainted with a strange phenomenon.
On Peanut Street in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, cars drive up a road for a quarter of a mile with their engines turned off.
At the entrance to the hill in Bedfort, Pennsylvania, giant letters “GH” (gravity hill) are written indelibly on the asphalt of the highway, so the driver knows where to stop, shift into neutral gear and take his foot off the brake pedal.
Similar phenomena are observed near Newcastle on the Isle of Wight, on Jeju Island in South Korea, on the Rocca di Papa highway south of Rome, in southern Poland, in Turkey and Greece.
In South Australia, near Peterborough, 35-year-old farmer James Breff, who had just bought a brand new car, was carefully driving along a deserted road when he suddenly punctured a tire. Of course, he didn’t have a spare wheel with him, and, getting out of the car, he went up the mountainside for help: in front, about two kilometers, there was a car repair shop. However, he did not go even twenty meters, as he noticed that he was being overtaken by his own car! Since then, the anomalous mountain has been called Bruff Hill, and a monument has been erected on the top of the hill in the form of a magnetic horseshoe, which attracts a bicycle to itself from below.
Parapsychologists explain all of the above cases by the fact that in anomalous places deep underground there are faults in the earth's crust, from where a magnetic field energy is released outside, affecting objects and people.
Most traditional scholars are unambiguously skeptical of such an explanation. In their opinion, no gravitational forces act on the so-called anomalous sections of the road, and the whole point is only in the imperfection of human vision, "clinging" to the terrain, rocks, trees and other objects along the route. Due to them, then there is a distortion, that is, a visual deception. Therefore, with a seeming rise to the eye on this section of the road, in fact, there is a slight descent.
As an example, scientists cite Mount Spook in Lake Wales, Florida. The highway passes through this mountain. And if you look at it from a certain point, you can clearly see a slight slope, which then turns into a steep climb. At the bottom of the slope there is a street sign allowing parking. It is in this place that after turning off the brakes, the cars begin to move forward, up the slope.
But it turned out that this was just an illusion. It is created by the surrounding hills combined with the curves of the highway. When viewed from the side low point» rises above the road. Here the traffic is one-way, so drivers cannot turn around to be sure of their delusion.
To expose the "miracle", surveyors placed special levels in several places on the highway, which showed no slope. However, the “scientific exercises” of scientists made absolutely no impression on the local residents. “Yes, at least you fill the whole Spook with levels,” they exclaim. - What will change from this? All the same, the cars, as before, with the engine turned off, will not roll down, as the scientists want, but up the slope ... "
I came across a picture on the net that interested me. I decided to consider it in more detail and, at the same time, tell about what I saw. This may not be news anymore, but it's interesting nonetheless.
The picture shows a custom called Black Hills Beast. This is how it looked on the design sketches:
It was created by order of Indian Motorcycles, by the way, the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in the United States. Officially, it was founded in 1901, and Harley-Davidson - in 1903. True, there is one subtlety: the Harley-Davidson family business has been successfully operating for 114 years, and Indian during this time has already been bent several times, revived, passed from hand to hand . Today, from that old "Indiana" remains, according to by and large, brand only. But the brand is legendary. However, I will not get carried away with history, it is not about it now.
 
The custom that I want to talk about today is built on the basis of the standard 2015 Indian Scout model. "Medium-sized", by the standards of the company itself.
Here it is (pictured above). But through the efforts of customizers, it has changed almost beyond recognition.
The premiere of the novelty is timed to the next anniversary of the next race for the next cup of the next collective farm water pumping station. I won't even try your patience and waste your energy explaining what kind of race it was and why it is so dear to the guys from Indian Motorcycles. I will only say that the custom is stylized as vintage motorcycles designed for "hill climbing".
"Climbing the hill" is once very popular view motorcycle racing. The winner was the one who first climbed up a fairly steep slope. Not everyone succeeded, so the competition was considered quite risky, and, accordingly, spectacular.
Naturally, we climbed up the slope along a very slippery dirt track for a motorcycle. That is why the Black Hills Beast has such a "toothy" rear tire, and even with chains put on top of it. On loose ground, such a wheel should be very cool to row, but it’s not worth leaving in this form on a regular road.
Also, the motorcycle has a greatly elongated rear swingarm. This is intended to provide him with additional stability when accelerating on an inclined surface.
This, in fact, was the main intrigue of such competitions. As soon as the rider went too far with the gas and lost control of acceleration, the motorcycle got up on rear wheel and overturned.
The Black Hills Beast has a standard "Scout" liquid-cooled V-twin engine. Its displacement is 69 cubic inches. It's about 1.1 liters. "with our money." And the manufacturer himself claims the power as 100+ hp. Also in this photo you can see a tuning muffler from RPW USA. It is significantly shorter than the standard one and does not touch the ground when the motorcycle stands on the rear wheel.
The most luxurious leather saddle is also selected from the catalog of branded tuning accessories. By the way, $379.99 retail and excluding taxes!
You can still see expensive Fox cross shocks and just a bunch of all kinds of additional goodies. It can be seen that the guys had a budget and they were not particularly stingy. But it turned out beautiful! True, the uncovered chain and its drive are for one race, no more.
In a word, everything is cool. However, the question remains, why? The company Indian Motorcycles itself hints extensively that something similar will go into series. Perhaps even next year. But personally, I somehow doubt it - the motorcycle turned out to be painfully specific. Why did I decide to tell you about it? Yes, simply because I liked it externally. I see no other reason to procrastinate on this topic.
You are very tired during weekdays, so you decided by all means to spend your legal weekend fun and for the benefit of yourself. And what can cheer you up and relax more than an amusement park. A huge entertainment center has recently opened in your city, where you can find rides to your liking. If you are more drawn to the water, you can climb a dizzying huge slide, several miles long, and get an indescribable drive from the competition for the fastest descent. And, if you are more attracted to land pleasure, or simply there is no desire to get wet, then you can always saddle a racing scooter and go all out on a breathtaking turn from twisted tracks, where, by the way, competitions are also held among visitors for the title of the most reckless racer. This is an adrenaline rush that will just blow your brain from overexertion. just such a crazy rest is necessary after a hard working week!
Usually, skyrunning (from English high-altitude running, running at sky level) is understood as a way of moving in mountainous areas at an altitude of more than two thousand meters above sea level along the relief. On this moment The main types of skyrunning are:
- High-altitude marathon (a race with a rise of 2000 meters and a length of 30 km to 42 km);
- High-altitude race (races at an altitude of 2000 to 4000 meters, from 20 km to 30 km maximum);
- Vertical kilometer (a race with a height difference of 1000 meters with a distance of no more than 5 km);
History of occurrence
Vertical races appeared in the USA. America is famous for its high-rise buildings, and already in 1977 the first vertical race took place on the famous Empire State Building. Then the fever of building skyscrapers swept over Asia, these races began to gain popularity there. Then the phenomenon went to high-rise buildings in Europe, and skyrunning came to Russia relatively recently.
The main reason why more and more athletes choose vertical races is the desire to get new emotions. This is quite natural, because when the marathon within the city has already been taken, the trail through the mountains and forests is also in the piggy bank, and sports passion constantly pushes forward - many want something new. Vertical races are becoming both a new kind of self-test and entertainment. 
Vertical runs - a challenge to yourself
Race distances can range from 100 meters to 160 kilometers. However, specific conditions are determined by the format of the race. For example, at one of the most famous such races Red Bull 400 runners must cover 400 meters uphill at a 35 degree angle, and the course record is 03:40:01. In running up the stairs of skyscrapers, the angle of elevation is 90 degrees. Of course, the athletes do not climb to the last floors directly vertically upwards, but by stairs that are located at an angle of 45-50 degrees. For more long distances height increase is gradual.
Each such track has its own records. For example, in New York, Piotr Lobodzinski from Poland holds the world record in the vertical run at the World Trade Center. This year, he crossed 104 floors of the tower in 12 minutes 5 seconds, rising to a height of 546 meters. And in the capital South Korea Seoul track record was set in 2017 by Australian Mark Born. He climbed to the 123rd floor of the Lotte World Tower in 15 minutes and 44 seconds, reaching a maximum height of 555 meters. 
Additional differences between skyrunning and regular running are manifested in the biomechanical and metabolic processes of the body. The fact is that during vertical running, athletes release more lactic acid than during normal running. In addition, intense stair running makes the muscles work with a vengeance. As positive effect can be distinguished: - Hips, buttocks and abs workout
- Active fat burning
- Strengthening the cardiovascular system
- Development of endurance
- Development of joints and ligaments, strengthening of bones.
Vertical races in Russia and the world
Vertical races already have their own world series of starts Vertical World Circuit, which is part of International Association skyrunning. Races usually start in May and end in December. This year the series takes place in 9 cities: Seoul, Paris, New York, Manila, Beijing, Shanghai, Osaka, London and Hong Kong.
In our country, vertical races are also gaining popularity. Various competitions have been held in Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Volgograd, Perm, Sochi, Izhevsk, Moscow and other regions of Russia. For the victory in such starts, cash prizes are awarded, as well as slots for participation in Russian races. Often vertical races are organized for charitable purposes. 
If you have a desire to try yourself in a vertical race, then a great way to test your strength is to participate in the "Olympic Vertical" - this is an extreme race on the slope of Mount "Armeika" 300 meters long. The launch is scheduled for July 1 in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. You can register for the event. Photo: redbull.com, gonyctourism.com, telegraph.co, impresspages.lt, dagelan.co, verticalworldcircuit.com, vk.com/zabegvisotsky, mashable.com
And even without it, quite a lot of cross-country starts take place on tracks with an abundance of descents and ascents. At the same time, not everyone is aware that running uphill and downhill is slightly different from that on the plain. Ignoring this leads to increased energy consumption and injuries to the musculoskeletal system. Moreover, there are differences in the approach to running up or down both in preparation and in running technique. In this article, I want to touch on the specifics of running technique.
So what's so special about running uphill? I must say right away that when running uphill, almost everyone starts. This means that almost everyone starts landing on their forefoot with shorter strides. True, a considerable percentage of runners bend at the same time in the belt, which is already violating the structure correct running. Hence the first element of the uphill running technique:
- Keep your body as close to vertical as possible. To facilitate this task, look ahead of you at 10-15 meters. It is a mistake to think that looking down, you divert your thoughts from the heavy lifting. Look ahead and it will be easier for you to run.
- The second thing to pay attention to is repulsion. When running uphill, you need to move your body weight up. This is energy intensive. If you still have strength and want to run fast, the person subconsciously increases the power of repulsion. However, this will waste a lot of energy. It would be much more correct and much more economical to increase the lift (forward) of the hip while maintaining a quick removal of the leg from the support. To see this, try this: step one foot onto the step and take a second quick step forward with the other foot. Now do the same, only jump up the same step and try to move forward as fast as in the first case. Compare your feelings and expended forces.
- In order for the steps to be fast (not drawn out) when running, after raising the knee, one should lower the leg without whipping the shin. It's not that hard to do if you practice.
- Cadence: The cadence should remain the same as it was when running on the flat and be between 175 and 185 steps/minute. Only their length will decrease slightly. It is only natural that your speed will decrease as well. Therefore, if you are running on a hilly track, you should not pay much attention to the change in running speed in real time (according to the GPS watch). If you try to maintain some target pace, this will lead to the fact that you will run at a variable (by effort) pace, which will inevitably result in worse finish times.
Downhill running, or as runners often call it, downhill running. The first thing I want to note is that do not think that on the descents you will compensate for what you lost when running uphill. This is simply impossible, even if only according to the law of conservation of energy. Moreover, if it is wrong to run downhill, then you can aggravate your condition. The aggravation in the first place will be this: since it is relatively easy to run with long strides when running downhill, most runners land far ahead of themselves, often on a straight leg. At the same time, the kinetic energy of impact on the surface is greater (after all, you are flying from a height!), It is absorbed by the joints (ankle, knee, hip) and the spine, as well as the so-called inhibitory muscle group. The strongest of them is the quadriceps femoris. Ask those who have run the Boston Marathon or the Comrades Marathon downhill, they will confirm that these muscles hurt the most. Inflammation of the periosteum, pain in knee joints. But the momentary effect will be expressed in the fact that by the end of the distance your legs will obey you less and less, especially at a marathon or other extra long distance. To avoid this or minimize the negative effect, you should adhere to some principles:
- Oddly enough, but again I will mention the direct pose: if you keep the body straight, then this will be the first step to reduce problems. It will be logical to increase the forward lean in order to "catch" the fall. But you need to bend over the center of gravity, i.e. lower abdomen. If you lean forward with your shoulders, then this will provoke an even greater outflow of the lower leg and, as a result, an increase in the length of the step.
- You can increase the length of the step, but again at the expense of bringing the hip / knee forward. If at the same time quickly remove the foot from the support and put it under you, then it is absolutely possible to maintain such a gentle landing.
- The logical conclusion from the above is to keep the cadence around 180. If the slope of the descent is small, then at a frequency in the range of 175-185 your steps will be wide, and the landing will not go far beyond the projection of the center of gravity. If the steepness of the descent makes you take too long steps, then it would be more correct to purposefully reduce their length at the expense of running speed. Yes, your running speed may be slightly slower than the runners around you, but trust me, you will more than win it back on the flat or on the climbs in the later stages of the run. Even more important point will be that you save your legs and back from the traumatic impact of landing in front of you when running downhill.
I recently returned from South Africa, where after participating in, I spent a few days visiting my friends and was very surprised to see that local runners do not have flat running tracks. More precisely, there is such a place, but only on the promenade along the beach of Durban. If you drive a few kilometers inland, then the only place where you can run is in the hills. This applies to both younger students and adult runners. A simple children's race for 5 km runs along the track with such ups and downs that the average city dweller in Russia does not even dream of. So these people have an advantage: they are adapted from childhood to run up and down.
To sum up the above, it should be added that when planning to participate in a race on a hilly track, attention should be paid to strengthening the ligaments and tendons, as well as the strength of the muscles of the legs and upper body. It is the latter that maintain correct posture during running, especially in the last third of the distance, when fatigue sets in and the degree of conscious control of posture and technique decreases. You just need to do the “right” exercises to strengthen the postural (postural) muscles. These include the transverse and deep oblique muscles of the abdomen, the small muscles of the spine (which add up to the long extensor of the back), as well as deep muscles pelvic area.
You should also use plyometric exercises. A typical example of plyometrics is jumping from a small height (15-20 cm) with a quick rebound, both on two legs and on one. You just need to remember that these exercises are a rather “sharp” strength training tool, and it can be used by already experienced runners or in a small amount.
In trail and cross-country races, competitors run on uneven surfaces with their feet constantly at different angles. In this case, compact controlled steps become even more relevant. Most trail runners are of the opinion that trail running shoes need thicker soles to provide maximum protection against bumps, rocks, and other hazards. But the thick sole provokes runners to run with wide strides. In addition, an increase in the thickness of the sole slows down the reaction time of the muscles to signals from the proprioceptors of the feet and ankle joints, and this may already lead to injury due to the late reaction of the muscles of the body to an unforeseen position. Everyone decides for himself what shoes to run in, but I recommend testing for yourself and choosing sneakers with the minimum comfortable sole thickness for you.
I wish you a happy run on rough roads, paths and all other places!
