Heather: Given the choice, what would you opt for, heading out onto the trails or sticking
to the asphalt on the road? With the road, you've got that convenience, the fact that
you know exactly what you're going to get. It's a flat, smooth surface made up of asphalt
tarmac. Also, it's pretty handy because most of us live rather close to a road. Yes, of
course there are pros to road running but what about running off-road I'm going to be
sharing of the benefits of trail running and explaining how to get the most out of this
varied terrain. [music]
As you can see, I have ventured into the countryside. It's time to talk about the benefits of running
off-road. Before we go any further, I just want to explain what trail running actually
encompasses because a lot of people see it means tackling technical, rocky terrain in
the mountains or maybe going through mud and bogs somewhere miles away from civilization.
In actual fact, it just means heading off the road. Whether that is starting off by
just venturing onto a grassy verge next to the road or maybe tackling a gravel canal
towpath, it all counts. You're probably wondering why I'm such an advocate for running off-road.
Well, let me explain. [music]
There's no getting away from the fact that running is a weight-bearing sport. In actual
fact, you're putting around two to three times your body weight through each leg on every
single stride, and running on the road or the pavement is a rather unforgiving surface.
If you venture off-road is just going to give your body a little bit of a breather by taking
that impact on just a slight notch depending on what surface you're up for. That then in
the long-term can actually reduce the chance of potentially picking up any injuries.
[music] For many of us exercise is that perfect way
to escape. It's an hour or so of time to yourself and just leaving those worries behind. We'll
add in trail running, and that takes it up another level because no matter how easy your
trail is, you're still going to have to be concentrating on where you're putting your
feet and it'll help you to stay in the now. That could be simply running through the trails
of a field, along forest trails, over rocks, along a river, anything that's just going
to stimulating your mind and helping you to remember just being in that moment. I find
it's a perfect way to just escape and enjoy yourself.
The age of a smartwatch is here. They are great at collecting and storing our data but
it can be a slippery slope as you start to get obsessed with those numbers and forget
to enjoy the simplicity of just running. It could be worrying about what your heart rates
doing, what pace you're at, what speed your last kilometer was compared to the next one?
The thing with trail running you can't really compare that data anyway, because there's
so many other variables. It's a perfect way to be able to escape from
the numbers. I'm not saying there's no place for numbers. Yes, some runs, you do want to
have those metrics that you can hit those set times or those set targets, but why not
go to the trails and just escape from that for a little while.
[music] Like we said earlier running, off-road doesn't
have to involve going up and down mountains, but hills can be your friend. Honestly, it
does depend a bit on where you live, but you'll usually find that hills off-road tends to
be a little bit more taxing or steeper than hills on the roads. You can use them to your
advantage to help spice up your training. When you're running uphill, for example, you
can concentrate on your having really good posture, your arm position, your arm drive,
and also your foot placement, and vice versa. When you're running downhill, you can use
that to help actually improve your running cadence and speed up your feet.
[music] Our final one here, running off-road acts
as a natural core and balance session because you're constantly having to adapt to where
your foot is landing, whether you're stepping over tree roots or puddles, or maybe you're
dodging rocks on the ground, you'll find yourself leaping or hopping, jumping. That will naturally
engage all of your core muscles, as well as those proprioceptive muscles, which sometimes
can get forgotten about on the road. Those tendons, ligaments, and muscles around all
your joints, which will actually help with overall running efficiency. Yes, I think there's
a few bonuses there. [music]
I'm leaving the mud behind me. It's back to the road. Now, there's certain fundamentals
when it comes to running training that just require you to have that flat, smooth surface.
I'm going to be explaining just why sometimes you need to run on this surface. First up,
we've got the consistency of the surface of the road. You know exactly what you're getting.
When it comes to those tough sessions that you want to be able to repeat, well, it comes
in rather handy. Yes, you've got the option of a canal, for
example, with hard paths gravel, but if it rains really heavily, you suddenly find yourself
dodging puddles, and mud which will get in the way of your session. Repeatability leads
directly on from consistency, because thanks to the fact that the surface is consistent,
you know you can do that same session week after week, session in, session out and you
get then a nice bank of data which you can rely back on to compare to other sessions.
There's just something more specific about it. If you've got to do a high-intensity session
that you know, you're going to get the exact same results, which you don't quite have when
you're running on the trails. [music]
There is an element of risk when it comes to running on trails, maybe a sprained ankle
or tripping over something if you're running through mud or long grass or over uneven terrain
and road, just take that out of it. Even in the winter where maybe the trails become icy,
you'll find that majority of main roads or sidewalks will at least be clear from any
ice and snow. You've got the added bonus of streetlights. I know head torches can do a
fairly good job but with a streetlight, you know, you've got that consistency. You can
run hard without having to worry about your footing.
[music] This final point could sway you either way.
Now, if you've entered an event, the surface that's going to be on is going to influence
the type of running you're going to do in your training. Now, having said that just
because you've say entered a race doesn't mean all of your training needs to be on trail
and vice versa. You do, however, just need to make sure that your mind and your body
are prepared for that event that's coming up. That said if you've got a half or full
marathon, a lot of running on the road that you're going to need to make sure that you've
had plenty of conditioning on this hard surface because your body is going to have to take
several hours of pounding on that hard surface. [music]
As you can see, there are benefits to both types of running. Personally, for me, I love
the trails in the summer when it's like this, but when it starts getting a little bit muddy,
I know the roads are still wet. If you do have the option, I would recommend mixing
it up with both and using the trails for those leisurely longer steady runs. When you've
got to do something more specific, then hit the road for that consistency on those high-end
sessions. Do let me know which you prefer and why. You can do that in the comment section
below and give us a like. Remember, you can check out our social media channels and follow
GTN there too. [00:07:51] [END OF AUDIO]