Tips For the Novice Trail Runner Based on Personal Experience

Its the weekend, you wake up, check the weather and put some comfortable running clothes on. You’re headed to a local trailhead not far from your house, the air is crisp and the morning dew is still covering the grass. The sun just started to come up half an hour ago so the morning dew is still there but slowly dissipating. As you start out onto the trial the sunlight is shining through the trees in what looks like individual beams of light. You’re entering the forest as the nocturnal wildlife is bedding down and the daytime wildlife is waking up. You may see deer on the trial who are doing some final browsing before taking it easy and resting for the day. Your muscles are warm since you’ve been running for a while and you’re falling into a comfortable pace. As you run your feet are hitting the soft forest floor beneath you that has been cushioned with years worth of pine needles and soil. There is something to be said about being out in nature before the noise of the day takes over. Before most people even roll out of bed. Trail running doesn’t need to be done in the morning but the biggest draw to trail running is connecting with the landscape and nature around you while you’re doing something good for your body. Trail running is about moving through the landscape and appreciating the natural world. The changes in elevation, ground cover, changing plant life, and sounds of nature are all reasons people are drawn to trail running.

I wanted to write a blog post for anyone who is interested in starting trail running because I definitely searched online and read some articles before I did myself. I started trail running on a consistent basis about 2 years ago. The draw for me was that I loved to hike but I didn’t have time since I took my fitness very seriously and would go to the gym daily. Merging the two seemed like the obvious solution. My biggest advice to anyone starting out is not to get wrapped into buying a ton of gear right away. I am of the mindset that you should make sure you stick with a hobby before investing too much money into it. I used a very old pair of running shoes for my first couple weeks of trail running. If you’re someone who runs on a treadmill regularly this will be a humbling experience. Running outdoors as opposed to a treadmill requires a lot more work on your end. Instead of running in place with a treadmill belt below you you will have to actually be propelling yourself forward. There is also the changes in running surface, elevation, and the steps you’ll have to take to avoid obstacles such as tree roots. This requires much more balance and use of different muscles you normally wouldn’t be working on a treadmill. When I started I was running 5 miles on a treadmill and then barely made it a mile and a half outdoors. As the weeks go on if you stick to it the distance will increase before you even know it. I used to go the the park and run a mile or a mile and a half and then walk/hike a mile to make sure I felt like I was getting a substantial workout instead of just driving somewhere to barely be there. This was helpful for me because I didn’t like the idea on driving 10 minutes each way to only be there for a ten minute run. When I realized that I loved to trail run I did make my first running gear purchase.

After running for a few weeks I purchased a pair of trial running shoes. I wear Altras and I really like them for various reasons. I chose this shoe because they have a zero drop heel to toe. This means that the shoe is essentially flat and doesn’t have a higher heel on it. I chose a flat shoe since I have a tendency to have pain around my knees when I wear shoes that have a larger heel on them. Every person is different though and most running shops will help you find a shoe that will be the best. I purchased my shoes at a discounted price which was around $130, running shoes can get pricey but there’s plenty of options out there. Buying shoes specifically for trail running really makes the difference, I remember my first run with my new shoes and it was surprising to see the difference in the comfort alone. After the running shoes I did sort of fall down the rabbit hole of adding to my running gear here and there but I’d like to think I didn’t go too crazy. In my case I luckily got some of the items as gifts.

I’ll share the more substantial running gear that I have gotten after adding the shoes because it will eventually come up for anyone who sticks to trail running. After the shoes the next big addition was a Garmin watch. I got the watch as a birthday present and probably would have just kept my Fitbit forever if I wasn’t gifted it. The Garmin watch was something I had wanted for a while but wasn’t something I could bring myself to purchase since I already had a Fitbit. I am so happy I did get this watch though because I wear it every day and there are so many additional features that I didn’t have before. The biggest difference being the gps aspect of the watch. No one needs a watch to go running in the woods but if someone was asking me for a recommendation on one this would be what I would say to purchase.

The next essential item in my opinion is a good pair of headphones. I used my $30 Walmart headphones for a while before I decided I wanted a pair of headphones that were open so I could hear what was happening around me. I’m a true believer that it’s dangerous to run with both headphones in so I only would run with one headphone which got annoying after a while. I kept seeing other runners post online about a pair of headphones called Openrun which is made by Shokz. It’s a completely open headphone that’ll run you around $130 at BestBuy. I was very skeptical when I first got these but there was a window where I could return them if I didn’t like them so I felt more comfortable trying it out. The first run I wore them for was one of the most relaxing runs I’ve ever been on. It was lightly raining so as I was running I turned my music to a lower level and simultaneously listened to the rain hitting the tree canopy above me. I feel much more at ease that no one is going to sneak up on me as well. I love these headphones so much that I purchased a pair for my mom on her birthday.

The last thing I’ll talk about is phone and key storage. It wasn’t until I ran a half marathon that someone asked me why I held my phone and keys in my hand for my entire run. After the question was asked, to which I had no good answer, I started paying attention to every runner that was around me and I was unable to find a single person that was holding their phone and keys in their hand. All the runners either had a flip belt or a running vest. I have a running vest that I got as a Christmas gift. I like the running vest but that’s only something I wear if I’m planning on being out long enough to need to refuel. The flip belt is slimmer and seems more practical for lower mileages. I’ve been holding my phone and keys in my hands for a while and it doesn’t necessarily bother me but from a comfort standpoint this may be something someone would want to get once they start hitting higher mileages.

I hope this post helps anyone whose trying to get into trail running. This hobby can seem overwhelming to start since there’s a lot of running gear out there and there’s a lot of different brands and influencers that post about running. The best thing to do is to grab the things you have and get out there to see if this is something you’d want to invest time into, the hardest part is staying consistent.

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