Trail Running
4 min
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Sooner or later, every runner gets hooked. The off-road world attracts, stimulates and intrigues, and very often wins over for good those who have made the effort of running a genuine way of life.
Not only habitual asphalt runners, the so-called "roadies", but much more often trekking enthusiasts too, and sometimes even MTB-loving bikers, get drawn into the wilder variant of classic running.
Short, long or ultra, vertical or skyrunning, summer or winter, trail running has now crossed the boundary of the "niche"and, in one leap, also the risky status of "passing fad", to become in every respect an established sporting reality in the endurance world: appreciated, respected and now a point of reference.
But what are the ideal characteristics of an athlete who runs through woods and over rocks? You certainly cannot improvise, either athletically or in terms of the equipment you use. It is a discipline in which preparation counts for a great deal, both the general aspects and the finest details, unlike other activities that are much easier to take up.
The ideal trail runner is certainly a strong and light runner, agile, athletic and very, very resilient. They know the right equipment to use for the terrain, the distance and the weather conditions they will face. They are able to put together a good eating and supplementation plan to follow during their long outings: practical, energy-giving and, why not, tasty too. They know their limits and can use their mental preparation to their advantage, pushing and gritting their teeth when necessary but also catching their breath and recovering as needed when the chance and opportunity arise.
Compared with activities that are much more routine in terms of movement and distribution of effort, athletes approaching trail running should undoubtedly give great consideration to the high variability of the stimuli they will encounter during exertion. Physical and neuromuscular stimuli caused by highly variable impacts on uneven ground, as well as biochemical and cardiovascular stimuli linked to an often long duration, with peaks of very high intensity against a constant, never-interrupted medium-low baseline.
In terms of muscles, it will be advisable to work regularly on strength and muscular endurance, as well as elasticity and neuromuscular responsiveness, especially if you want to try high-altitude, vertical or skyrunning races, where the stimuli and difficulties change with every step and proprioception is put under stress. This refers specifically to all the body's abilities to keep its balance with every step, to keep the body stable even without a regular point of impact and/or without the visual cues that make this stability easier. If we add the "duration" component to all this, that is, the need to keep control of all these neuromuscular variables over a long or very long period, we risk creating ideal conditions for very prolonged stress, for which we must necessarily be prepared.
The question of "weight" is another critical point to tackle without hesitation. Anyone whose weight is not right and optimised for this kind of sport should definitely make this a priority over many other aspects. In this case, excess weight is not only synonymous with lower performance but also with less protection against injuries and overload damage. Even more than in road running, a body heavier than it should be risks being truly harmful to tendons and joints, both in the case of a single, irregular footfall that has to be stabilised and in the chronic case, that is, the prolonged repetition of the movement. In the first case, we might simply find ourselves dealing with a wrong footfall that can cause annoying sprains to both ankles and knees, which are certainly easier to avoid with a responsive, well-trained neuromuscular and joint system, and certainly less likely when less weight bears down on the joint in question. In the second case, overload would be our main risk: repeating the same movement constantly would lead first to fatigue and then to inflammation of muscle and tendon structures placed under excessive tension, which increases as the weight above them increases.
A few words on equipment. Knowing the route and the duration of our outings makes the difference between a pleasant, regenerating and fun training session and a disastrous experience never to be repeated. The sole of the shoe, the upper, the waterproofing and breathability of the materials, care over friction and rubbing points, spare kit: these are just some of the points we feel it our duty to highlight as useful advice, to raise the awareness of those who would otherwise take a potentially harmless activity far too lightly.
Eating mindfully, hydrating and supplementing in a healthy way, preventing very risky drops and deficits, with highly digestible products that do not cause problems for our gastrointestinal system but instead help the cause, is the next step. For this, though, you'll find everything you need, dedicated kits and the best advice on our website.
Not only habitual asphalt runners, the so-called "roadies", but much more often trekking enthusiasts too, and sometimes even MTB-loving bikers, get drawn into the wilder variant of classic running.
Short, long or ultra, vertical or skyrunning, summer or winter, trail running has now crossed the boundary of the "niche"and, in one leap, also the risky status of "passing fad", to become in every respect an established sporting reality in the endurance world: appreciated, respected and now a point of reference.
But what are the ideal characteristics of an athlete who runs through woods and over rocks? You certainly cannot improvise, either athletically or in terms of the equipment you use. It is a discipline in which preparation counts for a great deal, both the general aspects and the finest details, unlike other activities that are much easier to take up.
The ideal trail runner is certainly a strong and light runner, agile, athletic and very, very resilient. They know the right equipment to use for the terrain, the distance and the weather conditions they will face. They are able to put together a good eating and supplementation plan to follow during their long outings: practical, energy-giving and, why not, tasty too. They know their limits and can use their mental preparation to their advantage, pushing and gritting their teeth when necessary but also catching their breath and recovering as needed when the chance and opportunity arise.
Compared with activities that are much more routine in terms of movement and distribution of effort, athletes approaching trail running should undoubtedly give great consideration to the high variability of the stimuli they will encounter during exertion. Physical and neuromuscular stimuli caused by highly variable impacts on uneven ground, as well as biochemical and cardiovascular stimuli linked to an often long duration, with peaks of very high intensity against a constant, never-interrupted medium-low baseline.
In terms of muscles, it will be advisable to work regularly on strength and muscular endurance, as well as elasticity and neuromuscular responsiveness, especially if you want to try high-altitude, vertical or skyrunning races, where the stimuli and difficulties change with every step and proprioception is put under stress. This refers specifically to all the body's abilities to keep its balance with every step, to keep the body stable even without a regular point of impact and/or without the visual cues that make this stability easier. If we add the "duration" component to all this, that is, the need to keep control of all these neuromuscular variables over a long or very long period, we risk creating ideal conditions for very prolonged stress, for which we must necessarily be prepared.
The question of "weight" is another critical point to tackle without hesitation. Anyone whose weight is not right and optimised for this kind of sport should definitely make this a priority over many other aspects. In this case, excess weight is not only synonymous with lower performance but also with less protection against injuries and overload damage. Even more than in road running, a body heavier than it should be risks being truly harmful to tendons and joints, both in the case of a single, irregular footfall that has to be stabilised and in the chronic case, that is, the prolonged repetition of the movement. In the first case, we might simply find ourselves dealing with a wrong footfall that can cause annoying sprains to both ankles and knees, which are certainly easier to avoid with a responsive, well-trained neuromuscular and joint system, and certainly less likely when less weight bears down on the joint in question. In the second case, overload would be our main risk: repeating the same movement constantly would lead first to fatigue and then to inflammation of muscle and tendon structures placed under excessive tension, which increases as the weight above them increases.
A few words on equipment. Knowing the route and the duration of our outings makes the difference between a pleasant, regenerating and fun training session and a disastrous experience never to be repeated. The sole of the shoe, the upper, the waterproofing and breathability of the materials, care over friction and rubbing points, spare kit: these are just some of the points we feel it our duty to highlight as useful advice, to raise the awareness of those who would otherwise take a potentially harmless activity far too lightly.
Eating mindfully, hydrating and supplementing in a healthy way, preventing very risky drops and deficits, with highly digestible products that do not cause problems for our gastrointestinal system but instead help the cause, is the next step. For this, though, you'll find everything you need, dedicated kits and the best advice on our website.
