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Hills (Read 533 times)

jordanj


    Can anyone out there that runs hills explain how steep a 20% grade is for a hill? Is a slope that high that you can not see the top of a hill starting from the bottom? Thanx
    vengeancewins


      This is apparently a 20% grade hill. Sure looks fun... Shocked
      jordanj


        Oh my god!!! Must be San. Fran. I guess I am running 5% grades
        Trent


        Good Bad & The Monkey

          Steepness is measured by grade. Grade is reported as a percentage of rise over run. For example, a road that rises one foot over 53 feet over a mile (i.e., 5280 feet) has a grade of (53/5280 = ~0.01 = 1%) one percent. The Pikes Peak Marathon has an average grade of only 11% and it rises 7500 feet in about 13 miles, but does reach a 20% grade at points. The hills in the park where I usually run generally reach their maximum steepness at about 12-15% but average about 5-7%. Also, a course that raises 500 feet in one mile has a grade of (500/5280) = 0.094 = 9.4%. So a 20% grade hill would rise 500 feet in under half a mile, or 250 feet in a quarter mile. Or rise 100 feet (i.e., 10 stories) in a tenth of a mile.
          JakeKnight


            The hills in the park where I usually run generally reach their maximum steepness at about 12-15% but average about 5-7%.
            Is Golf Course hill the steepest? Ever calculate the grade on that one?

            E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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            Trent


            Good Bad & The Monkey

              Is Golf Course hill the steepest? Ever calculate the grade on that one?
              It rises about 60 feet in about 1/10 mile. 11%
                Can anyone out there that runs hills explain how steep a 20% grade is for a hill? Is a slope that high that you can not see the top of a hill starting from the bottom? Thanx
                Others have given you good explanations and picture. A slope so high that you can't see over the top refers to a combination of size and steepness, but more to size. I've got a few hills in the 7-12% range that I can't see over the top (aside from curves), because they're anywhere from 1.5-3.8 mi long, about 900-1300 ft vertically.
                "So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog
                jordanj


                  Thank you for the info.
                    The Manitou Incline (you're familiar with this Trent, having run Pikes) rises 2011' in 1.02 miles for an average gradient of 41% and it has a max gradient of 68%. Looking down the incline. Yowza!
                    JakeKnight


                      The Manitou Incline (you're familiar with this Trent, having run Pikes) rises 2011' in 1.02 miles for an average gradient of 41% and it has a max gradient of 68%. Looking down the incling. Yowza!
                      I'm guessing they don't exactly run straight up that hill. Lots of switchbacks, I'd think.

                      E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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                      Trent


                      Good Bad & The Monkey

                        I'm guessing they don't exactly run straight up that hill. Lots of switchbacks, I'd think.
                        Correct. The steepest of which are only ~20%.
                          I'm guessing they don't exactly run straight up that hill. Lots of switchbacks, I'd think.
                          The Ascent and Marathon don't run up this trail... but a LOT of people do run up it for training... hundreds are out there on any given day. Some even run down Shocked