This study assessed the effects of stride length on symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage after downhill running and whether the extent of the symptoms sustained in a repeated bout of downhill running are influenced by stride length manipulation in the first bout. Eighteen males aged 21.1 +/- 0.6 years (mean +/- s) were allocated to one of three groups for bout one: preferred stride frequency, overstride and understride. Bout two was performed 2 weeks later at the participants' preferred stride frequency. Maximal isometric force and perceived muscle soreness were assessed pre-test and 30 min, 24, 48 and 72 h post-exercise for each downhill run. Three-factor analyses of variance with repeated measures on time and bout were used for analysis. Results revealed a three-way interaction for soreness (F8,60 = 3.56, P < 0.05) and relative isometric strength (F5.0,37.8 = 3.2, P < 0.05). Post-hoc analyses revealed that, after bout one, the overstride group perceived most soreness and the understride group retained most strength. After the second bout, the overstride and preferred stride frequency groups perceived less soreness than the preferred stride frequency group in bout one. Strength retention was greater after bout two for all groups. In conclusion, strength retention after a repeated bout appears to be independent of the damage experienced in the initial bout of downhill running. However, understriding may provide least protection against soreness in a subsequent bout.