In western Massachusetts where I live and run, it’s challenging to find smooth trails as most trail runners end up traversing rocky and rooty sections. It’s easier to find trails that rack up more than 1,000 feet of climbing during a 5-mile run than it is to find relatively flat or gently rolling trails, and it’s a place where even the fastest trail runners log splits of 12, 15 or even occasional 20-minute miles during training runs.
Needless to say, I’m tackling technical terrain nearly every time I leave the pavement. Since the obstacles are constant, it’s hard to even remember how I first learned to dance on the rocks or pick out the best line amid a spider web of roots – it’s simply something I’ve learned over years and miles on the trails.
I reached out to a few training friends who offered some tips and tricks on how to prepare for technical terrain, and how they prepare to run trails in western Massachusetts. These ladies are all runners who seem to excel as the trails get burlier.
Molly Fraher is a relatively newer trail runner and suggested that getting more time on technical trails works best for her. She pointed out that the same trail may be drastically different depending on conditions, so it’s okay to run it on repeat. Rocks that you can step on with confidence on a sunny day might be slick as snot the next morning when covered in damp dew. So, as the adage goes, practice makes perfect.
Bonnie Lathrop recently returned to the trails after an injury, and says that the most important thing is to have shoes that help you feel confident. From there, she suggests starting on flat ground that’s technical and work your way up to descending hills. Even short/small downhills will help you learn to think quickly.
Due to trail conditions, which can be shear ice during the winter, I often do more road running in the winter and return to the trails each spring. This gives me an annual opportunity to relearn how to stay upright without falling. To overcome that, Elena Betke-Brunswick relies on repetition over the rocks and roots to get into a rhythm on the trails, with a goal of one weekly technical run during the warmer months.
What if you can’t actually get onto technical trails? How do you prepare?
Ultrarunner and ultra-mom Kristin Loiko has relied on treadmills to get training, especially when her daughter was younger. She cranks the incline, settles in, then drops it down – even dropping to a decline if the treadmill has the capability. The point is to get used to changing gears and altering her stride length while running.
I have occasionally used the tall buildings at the university nearby, running up and down the stairwells. The quick feet needed for both the ascent and descent, and varying my stride, certainly uses many of the same techniques and skills that I use on the trails.
Strength training is a recommendation that many suggested to prepare your body for the technical trails. Bonnie prefers to focus her efforts plyometrics and core work, but she equally relies on her farming chores to get in strength work. I prefer single-leg versions of exercises – lunges, single-leg squats and deadlifts and step-ups and step-downs.
Kristin does a robust routine including squats and lunges, calf raises, lateral hopping, planks with movement (leg lifts, up/downs), speed ladders and jump rope. But her secret weapon is jumping on the trampoline. It sounds silly but she is insistent that since running the technical stuff means a lot of hopping, doing it on the trampoline means you can hop on both legs or one leg and do both big jumps and little jumps, and your body can get tossed around a bit so you’ll have to rebound. There’s the added bonus that it’s a lot of fun. And as a mom, anytime she can do things that include her kids is a plus. Trampoline time? Fun. Speed ladders? Fun.
The theme of having fun as the trails get technical was echoed by others. Running technical trails often makes me feel like a kid again – so why not embrace that? Splash through a puddle, run with your arms out to maintain balance and hop over the rocks.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach. We all make things work based on the time we have, our ability to get to trails and what is realistic for our lifestyle and goals. My local training buddies reminded me that there are many ways to prepare for the trails. At the end of the day, our approach to training has allowed us to get out there and confidently dance over the rocks and roots while enjoying the trails we call home.