Running Off the Beaten Path

Run enough mileage over the years, and you will no doubt suffer some sort of impact injury: for example, stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, and shin splints. Put simply, running pounds your body.

To stave off impact injuries, many runners mix up their training with lower impact exercises such as cycling, swimming, yoga, etc. Yet, some diehards refuse to give up their daily runs. Running is a part of them, and they are not about to relinquish that essential component of their person so easily. If you fall into that category of runner, yet you are concerned about the prospect of impact injuries typically occasioned by running, you ought to consider mixing in some trail running into your training regimen.

When you are trail running, you are running atop a much more forgiving albeit at times uneven surface. Trail running therefore allows you guard against the typical impact injuries occasioned by running, while simultaneously getting your running “fix.”

Here are some of the other considerable benefits offered by trail running:

Trail running often improves your ability to run hills. Most of the hills that you will encounter along the trail are far steeper than those you might encounter on the road. Trail running therefore affords you a great opportunity to develop your climbing lungs, and build up your quads and calves.

Notably, trail running enables you to develop and strengthen different muscle groups that you do not typically draw upon during road running sessions. Although trails offer a softer running surface, they almost always present a more uneven running surface. Uneven terrain in turn compels your tendons to provide a stabilizing force during your footfall and lift. Indeed, some challenging trail runs may even cause you to employ your abdominal and core muscles in an effort to stabilize your body. Consequently, trail running affords you the opportunity to develop and strengthen a variety of stability-oriented muscles and tendons.

Variety, variety, variety. Running the same road courses over and over again leads to boredom. Trail running mixes things up and gives you a chance to see and enjoy the sheer beauty of a forest or park. Plus, the comparative silence offered by trail running in a park or forest is often a welcome respite from the smog, traffic, and noise characteristic of urban runs.

(Copied from MapMyRun newsletter)