hi I'm kelcie whether you're a long time runner looking to change up your routine
or you're looking to get outside and enjoy the trees trail running is an
awesome way to do it and one of my favorite things to do let's talk about
trail running the great thing about trail running is that you don't need a
ton of gear just a good pair of shoes and a way to carry food and water I want
to talk about cheese first so this is a trail shoe trail shoes are gonna have a
lot more features than a road shoe because they're made for more dynamic
movement if you take a look at the bottom usually the out soles are gonna
be made of a grippy or rubber for uneven surfaces or anything slippery and
they're also gonna have looks those are great for things like clawing into loose
dirt or mud or anything like that you're gonna have also a more rigid midsole
usually with a rock plate so that it can protect your feet from anything
underfoot like roots sharp rocks anything that you could step on that
could puncture a normal softer foam and if you take a look at the uppers usually
you'll have a toe cap something to keep you from stubbing your toes and more
durable material that's less prone to ripping if you run into stuff on the
trail there's a lot to this and there's a lot of different type of trail shoes
out there so we have a whole video explaining that if you want to get more
into detail check out the link below so when it comes to carrying food and water
you have a couple different options ranging from handheld bottles to waste
packs and larger vests and packs handheld bottles are really great for a
shorter run or a really supported race where you get to fill up at an aid
station and you don't need much on you they have a pretty big range of sizes
from something large like this you can stash your phone keys and a little bit
of snack or something smaller where you might be able to stash only a gel or two
if you'd like to go hands-free and have your hands available for balancing or
doing any type of scramble on a technical trail a waste pack is a great
option they come in a variety of sizes so this one's definitely on the smaller
end of things they'll be ones with larger pockets
where you can easily stash a layer and some snacks I don't personally run with
one of these because they don't fit my body type very well but I know a lot of
runners who really enjoy them one thing I like about this pack is that it's got
two bottles so you could put a nutrition drink in one and some water in the other
and have a little bit of mix of things in terms of
hydration for longer unsupported trail runs it's great to have a lot of stuff
with you if you're gonna need to be carrying all of your gear something like
a vest or a pack is a good option for these types of runs because you'll have
a variety of pockets and a big range of sizes where you can choose the one that
really fits best for your run I use this pack from ultimate direction it's got a
lot of space for a hydration sleeve so I can have a reservoir of water and a
variety of zipper pockets for me to stash layers and snacks and in the front
it's got pockets for extra water and anything I might need on hands like my
phone my keys or extra snacks any trail can be a great trail to run on but the
most common options are going to be park trails forest roads and hiking trails
park trails are great because they're smooth and well-maintained so they're
great for taking along a friend or a dog and they're really convenient so if I
often want to go for a longer run and I don't want to leave the city I'll link
up some of my favorite parks and get a longer run with some extended trail time
and you'll often be surprised that a trail it's close to your neighborhood
feels like you're deep in the wilderness like this one
Forest roads are another amazing place to run if you want to get a smooth
non-technical surface like a park trail but still feel like you're really deep
in the wilderness so my favorite places to run are mix of forest roads like this
one and a little bit of hiking trails on the side your go-to hiking trails can
make for some really exciting runs and that's where you're gonna start getting
into more technical terrain with rocks roots and other trail obstacles to hop
over run around and everything like that a great way to find a new trail run is
checking out a guidebook or using online resources and apps like trail run
projects will often show photos of the trail descriptions elevation distance
and even recent trip reports for people who've done the trail so they can tell
you how it was keep in mind that you're going to be sharing the trail with other
runners hikers bikers and even horses so make sure to be a considerate trail user
get started trail running you don't need any real training or any fancy
techniques but there are a couple of things you can do to make it a little
bit easier for yourself first thing to do is to quicken your stride and take
shorter steps so you can react to changing conditions on the trail like
rocks and roots think of trail running like dodging more than stomping so you
can hop around obstacles in yourway
another thing you want to do is to focus your gaze about ten to fifteen feet
ahead of you on the trail if you look down at your feet
you'll probably trip and I know from experience so it's really good to take a
look at what's coming ahead so you're prepared for it so you'll want to focus
your gaze right around there technics is a really big topic so if you want to
learn more and go more in depth check out the video below so those are the
basics next step for you is to get outside find a trail and go for a run if
you want to learn more about trail running make sure to check out some of
our other videos and subscribe in the link below see you later
you