Has anyone run in any trail running races? I'm a beginning road runner, but I find that I get bored with that, even during races. Because I like hiking, I think trail running may be a good transition for me to get out onto the trail and also to engage my brain a little. I'm contemplating running at least one trail race in a 5-mile series this spring, but I don't know what to expect...
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trail running?
- Thread starter Pequenita
- Start date
Kimmyt
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I haven't, but I am friends with a bunch of folks who love them. I don't know about the series you'll be racing, but I get the drift that those trail runners are crazy folks! If I were making a generalization, I'd say that trail runners like to get really muddy and then afterwards probably kill a keg or two. They seem like they know how to have fun! And I love the names of their races!
The series near me: THe Chilly Cheeks, The Ugly Mudder, The Dirty Bird
Once I can run the distances (I just started and most of those are over 5m runs) I'll probably be signing up for a few just so I can get the tees!
K.
The series near me: THe Chilly Cheeks, The Ugly Mudder, The Dirty Bird
Once I can run the distances (I just started and most of those are over 5m runs) I'll probably be signing up for a few just so I can get the tees!
K.
We've got the Backyard Burn here. Not as exciting a name as some of the other races these folks put on (ie, Cranky Monkey). I've a friend who also wants to get into ultrahiking this year -- he thinks that I'm enough of a pushover that I'll train with him! He was a nut that thru-hiked the AT and would do 20+ mile days.
I think I may volunteer for a race or two before actually doing one...then again, ignorance could be bliss!
I think I may volunteer for a race or two before actually doing one...then again, ignorance could be bliss!
So I never got out to do a trail race last season, but today I told a lunatic friend (you'll see soon why she's a lunatic) which road races I was planning on running this spring, and then she chimes in and says, "Yeah, let's do these two trail races and this adventure race, too." Five minutes later, I get an email from her: "I'm already signed up for all of them!" And I'm thinking: "But...the first race is March 30th! That's still ski season in rare parts of the free world!"
All a roundabout way of saying that I'm finally signed up for my first and second trail running races....
All a roundabout way of saying that I'm finally signed up for my first and second trail running races....
tradygirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh man, I've always wanted to do an adventure race. Definitely keep us updated if you do it! You'll do great in the races, I'm sure. At least you'll have fun trying some new stuff.
I think trail running should be considered a totally separate sport from road running. It's so much more fun!! I've been really enjoying it since I started back up a few weeks ago.
Speaking of ultrahiking - there's a few on my plate that I hope to knock off this year. I'm mostly interested in traverses - a combination of hiking, scrambling, and free climbing that covers multiple peaks. Usually 14-16 hour days with lots of elevation. Maybe I'm kidding myself, but I think I have it in me.
I'm so excited to hear what everyone accomplishes this summer! So many plans in the making...
Yah, I ran in a couple trail races last year in the mountains. They are a nice break from road running. They are a bit more difficult due to the terrain... in my opinion I don't think I'll ever sign up for one that is > 10 miles just because you have to concentrate on getting your knees up over obstacles here and there. On one trail run last year I fell pretty hard and ended up with some of the rocky mountains embedded in my hand. I have pics of it, but I'll spare you...
O
OnAPlank
Guest
road racing really has nothing on a good trail race, or even a trail run. I would much rather be running through the woods and seeing all of the landscape that I run by instead of the double yellow line that I see everyday anyway.
liquidfeet
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've totally converted to trail running. If my knees wouldn't suffer, I'd go out every day.
It's so much more demanding than road running. You just can't check out and plan your meals or practice that difficult conversation you want to have with your boss while trail running as you can while on the road.
You have to watch every rock and root and plan where you're gonna plant that left foot, right foot ... and duck those branches and plan how to avoid continuous braking on the downhills (don't do it!!! knees won't be happy!!!), and instead think about cushioning those footsteps on the downhills (well, I do because my knees demand it), and choose which rocks for lunge off of to get more speed, and figure out which way to go in the mud, and so on and so on. Very entertaining! Oh, and it's especially fun when you get lost, or when you're first figuring out where a trail leads.
Anyone on the north shore of Boston out there? I'm learning all the trails around here, one at a time. Have got a bunch of them down by now. I can point you to the hemlock stands, the loose gravel and ledges, the BC-style elements that have been built (the terrain around here is quite gnarly, but some people just have to go overboard), the flats and the hilly sections, the muddy and the dry trails. I'd love company. I run slow!
It's so much more demanding than road running. You just can't check out and plan your meals or practice that difficult conversation you want to have with your boss while trail running as you can while on the road.
You have to watch every rock and root and plan where you're gonna plant that left foot, right foot ... and duck those branches and plan how to avoid continuous braking on the downhills (don't do it!!! knees won't be happy!!!), and instead think about cushioning those footsteps on the downhills (well, I do because my knees demand it), and choose which rocks for lunge off of to get more speed, and figure out which way to go in the mud, and so on and so on. Very entertaining! Oh, and it's especially fun when you get lost, or when you're first figuring out where a trail leads.
Anyone on the north shore of Boston out there? I'm learning all the trails around here, one at a time. Have got a bunch of them down by now. I can point you to the hemlock stands, the loose gravel and ledges, the BC-style elements that have been built (the terrain around here is quite gnarly, but some people just have to go overboard), the flats and the hilly sections, the muddy and the dry trails. I'd love company. I run slow!
