Its fall; the leaves are dropping, the air is cooler and some runners are heading to the trails. If you gave up road running because of sore knees or because you?re feeling too old, or if you?re thinking about heading in to your treadmill then trail running may be for you. Trail running can be anything off road from old railway lines, gravel roads or grass fields to trails forged through the woods and up ski hills.
When trail running you tend to run slower to watch your footing, and stop occasionally to get your bearings. You see lots of nature, and you run with at least 1 other person for safety reasons, the more the merrier. Difficult routes can beat you up, so you should walk up hills and take it easy or walk the downs particularly at the beginning of a new trail season. Repetitive stress injuries are a thing of the past with trail running as each footfall is different.
Racing the trails is even more fun. Traditional distances for trail races are longer than on the road, ranging from 25k to 100 miles. The hurry up and go forward mentality of road racing is virtually non-existent in trail races. The longer you go, the slower, more methodical your running should be. Stopping and chatting with volunteers is encouraged as is taking longer at the food stations to ensure you are eating and drinking enough to keep you going. Stopping at food stations is definitely worth your while. Chips, pretzels, cookies, M & M?s, water, Gatorade and coke for shorter distances while the longer you go the more substantial the fare becomes. Hamburgers, sandwiches, lasagne, soup and salty potatoes. Yum.
The crowds are not big, with participants ranging from 15 to 400, with a handful of spectators and volunteers to watch. The awards are different with belt buckles and tree rings replacing medals, while sports bags and knapsacks replace race t-shirts. Bruises, sprained ankles, thorny scrapes and poison ivy replace Achilles tendonitis and runners knee.
You can wear your road shoes on softer trails, but trail shoes are a must for rougher terrain. A fluid system that holds a lot is required for those longer routes or for large loop racing. Layering is also a good idea. The rush to finish feeling is softened by the warm, encouragement of fellow runners who have been there, done that, like where they are now and are glad you dropped in to join them.
If you would like some hands on experience or to try out a short course, the Quinte FunRunners run the Batawa trails most Sundays. Check out the schedule at
http://triandrunsports.com/triforum/index.php/board,21.0.html or call Tri & Run Sports for details. All newbies welcome, no one is left behind. For locals races try the Sydenham Fall Trail Run on Oct 18 or The Fat Ass Trail Run on Nov 15. For a list of shorter trail races go to
www.5peaks.com and for longer races look up the Ontario Ultra Series at
www.ouser.org.
