MY RUN: Tips for hitting the trails

Ever more runners are venturing off the road and onto the trails. Becoming a better trail runner means taking those road (and track, even) techniques and adjusting them for the uneven terrain.

It’s a challenge to overcome, and you’ll be working muscles that are put under a lot more pressure. But once you master the trail running technique, you’ll see a huge difference.

It comes down to 3 unique challenges:

trail running uphill
trail running downhill
using your arms to control your rhythm

GO UPHILL WITH MUCH SMALLER STEPS

Trail running uphill is the lung-busting part of trail running – it’s the bit that road and track runners have most trouble adjusting to. Large steps are hard to maintain when you’re going up. You’re also using the forefoot much more to push off.

This combination of forces means you should:

shorten your stride
lift your knees higher
shift your weight to the balls of your feet
move your legs from the hips

KEEP YOUR DOWNHILL RUNNING UNDER CONTROL

You can quickly lose control of your speed going downhill. The pull of gravity can cause you to hurtle down hills with a stride that is too long.

By overextending your leg, you put yourself at risk of injury. The downhill trail running technique is:

keep your feet under your body
maintain an upright posture
raise your feet from the ground as little as possible

USE YOUR ARMS TO PROPEL YOU FORWARD

One of the most important trail running tips is how you use your arms. Your arms are crucial to your overall running rhythm. And they’re essential to how efficient you run.

When you’re going uphill…you should swing your arms in short, sharp movements. Then your leg movement should follow with a short, fast stride.
When you’re going downhill…use your arms to control your momentum and keep control. That helps you to keep your balance, regulate your movement and quickly change direction.