Is this picture running uphill, basically flat, or downhill? (Read 1384 times)

I was about to guess downhill cuz of the way that jeep or whatever truck that is has his wheels cut.

So why post links to gmaps produced at other sites on RunningAHEAD?

Because the map was already there dude. Why are you ranting? Is Motionbased in a different category?

Interesting original post. I kept looking at it and finally decided it was a downhill followed by an uphill. Guess not.

Trust me I was way past 45 degrees on that hill! It actually hits something like 70 degrees around mile 1.4!

JDF, cool pic in your OP. It's definitely an optical illusion. And I have no idea how you run so fast pushing the stroller with two big kids in it! I have a 3-month old and even short, gradual hills feel hard pushing her in the stroller! BUT...since we're on the topic of pet peeves, one of mine is overestimating steepness. Ok, steepness of streets is typically measured in percent grade. It is calculated as vertical rise divided by horizontal distance. Thus, if a section of street rises 10 feet over a distance of 100 feet, the percent grade is 10%. People often think that a 100% grade would be vertical, but it's not. An angle of 45 degrees would be equivalent to a grade of 100%. Anyone who has been to San Francisco knows how steep some of the streets there can be. In fact, the two steepest streets (Filbert and 22nd St) have a grade of 31.5%. This is so steep that I'm sure the sidewalks on these streets are stairs rather than smooth paving. But what is the actual angle of a street with a grade of 31.5 percent? From trigonometry, a grade of 31.5% has an angle of 17.5 degrees relative to horizontal. Thus, the steepest streets in San Francisco have an angle of 17.5 degrees. I used to do a lot of rock climbing, and I can tell you that there are many rock climbs requiring a rope and safety gear that have an angle of only 45 degrees. And if you fell off of a slope like this, you would most likely die. 70 degrees is, of course, even steeper. In fact, 70 degrees is so steep that in the mountains, a slope of 70 degrees would be considered low avalanche danger because it's too steep for snow to accumulate! Ok, sorry for the geek rant, but it was kind of fun pulling out some high school math there.

Interesting stuff. I probably would have been one of those people. I did assume a 50% grade meant 45 degrees. This place is so educational.

This sounds like a Trigonometry problem and I sold my TI-85 after I crawled through college calculus. Sin/Cos/Tan......ewwwwww. Puke!

This sounds like a Trigonometry problem and I sold my TI-85 after I crawled through college calculus. Sin/Cos/Tan......ewwwwww. Puke!

I burned my TI-85

Entering 58008 in a calculator and then turning it upside down was the extent of my mathematical acumen.

7734 giggle

Ok, steepness of streets is typically measured in percent grade. It is calculated as vertical rise divided by horizontal distance. Thus, if a section of street rises 10 feet over a distance of 100 feet, the percent grade is 10%. People often think that a 100% grade would be vertical, but it's not. An angle of 45 degrees would be equivalent to a grade of 100%. Ok, sorry for the geek rant, but it was kind of fun pulling out some high school math there.

Yes but the key is actually how far a distance is that grade over! If you had 70 degrees over 100 feet you would definitely be seriously risking your life. However, if you have 70 degrees over 10 feet then you are just as likely to fall off of it but you probably won’t die. The elevation profile I showed does hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 degrees. However, it only does it for a few feet(~10 to 20). Trust me I nearly did fall off that section when I tried to run it with the stroller. I ended up struggling to walk up it and I nearly couldn’t make it. That hill is stupid it actually looks like it is 90 degrees at one point on the map. I have never run that race again because of how steep that single hill is. Heck cars have trouble getting up it. It is really a site to see, especially when you turn the corner and realize they expect you to run up it. I have been on several of those steep hills in San Fran and this hill is every bit as steep and more for those few feet in the middle of it. Honestly, if there weren’t million dollar houses on this street I bet they would change the road.