The Joy of Trail Running — To Make Much of Time

Breaking in my trail shoes on a rainy day.

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a short history of how I became a runner in spite of hating it (or so I thought)

I became a runner about twelve years ago. An actual quote from me that year, which Dustin can verify: “I’ll never be able to run a mile.”

I can pin my dislike of running on a handful of physical education teachers in middle school and high school. As an adult, I’m appalled by this because the entire reason the state requires physical education is to ensure students are healthy and develop good habits to keep them healthy as they age. In retrospect, I wonder if I would have found my love for running much earlier under other circumstances.

In school, we were required to run or walk a mile with our completion time recorded as part of educational standards set by the government. That’s fine. But in middle school, we had a particular physical education (P.E.) teacher, who wielded this requirement with a dose of sadism. One of my friends was overweight and would walk the mile instead of running it. To mock and punish her on one particular day, the teacher made the entire class stand outside and wait for this one student to finish. We were in our P.E. clothes and weren’t allowed to go to the locker room to change, nor could we leave when the bell rang, signaling that we were supposed to go to our next class. The teacher called out such atrocious comments as, “My grandmother can move faster than you,” while the class looked on, annoyed at the student, who was making them all late to their next class. This is honest-to-god a true story.

A few years later, my physical education teachers had us spend the entire class period running and running and running some more in really, really boring settings. We’re talking orange cones set out alongside the entrance to the school parking lot that we had to run back-and-forth between for about 45 minutes. On rainy days, we had to run up and down stairs inside in the auditorium in endless circles. And we were timed on everything. Our class grade was supposed to be based on whether we improved our time on the mile by at least ten seconds each run as if failure to do so meant we weren’t trying.

So, running felt punitive. It felt boring. It seemed like not making obvious improvement with each run was an indication of failure. As soon as I completed my last high school physical education class, I said good riddance and moved on.

As someone who is fairly active and in good shape, I always told myself that by the time I turned thirty, I needed to get into a consistent exercise routine to ensure I would be in good shape for the decades ahead. So, about a year before I hit 30, I purchased a stationary bike, elliptical machine, and treadmill for our basement since I knew I had to make working out easy and convenient.

That first mile of continuous running was a beast. I feel silly saying that now, but that was exactly how it felt at the time.

running evolution: from treadmill to outdoors to trail running

Of course running on a treadmill was a beast - it is the most punishing way to run. I love my treadmill for its convenience. Studies show that running on a treadmill is actually physically harder than running outside simply because of the monotony. When I began running outside in my neighborhood, I discovered the benefits of time spent in the outdoors with the sun, and eventually I discovered trail running.

Trail running is - by definition - running on any surface other than a paved one. Dirt paths, nature trails, paths used by hikers are all various types of trail running and like anything, they can vary greatly in their level of difficulty. Most of my casual weekend trail running is on a local greenway path that is alternatively gravel and dirt with the occasional tree root or protruding rock. The trail can get quite slick in the rain especially when there are a lot of leaves on the ground. Seed pods from walnut trees are another hazard requiring a close eye on the path when they drop in the fall. They are basically the equivalent of random tennis balls dotting the path, only brown to blend in.

The really challenging trail runs I do are typically part of a trail race. These trail runs are on paths that would typically attract hikers. They can have hundreds of feet of elevation change, have a lot of tree roots and other obstacles, and they can get very, very slick and muddy.

I discovered - much later than I should have - the importance of having trail shoes instead of regular running shoes. With small cleats, they help provide a more stable footfall, especially in dicey weather. My current trail shoes are TERREX by adidas trail running shoes , and they are getting a lot of use this fall! Thanks to adidas for gifting me these shoes! As the weather has gotten progressively colder after a warmer-than-usual start to the fall, I often pair my normal running attire with an extra layer by way of a lightweight TERREX by adidas jacket. I enjoyed this one so much that I ordered a second in another color.

so, what makes trail running joyful?

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you probably know how good it is for our mental health and overall outlook to spend time in the outdoors. Hiking is one of the most relaxing ways for me to do that - it’s a way to get away from neighborhood traffic, listen to the birds, and take in varied scenery. Running is also incredibly healthy for those able to do so. Trail running in particular is a better work-out because the runner has to use more muscles to stay balanced and avoid tree roots, rocks, etc. in the way. While trail running might sound riskier, it actually uses a wider array of muscles and ligaments, which strengthens them and cuts down on the over-use of a less varied exercise regimen. Oh, and I can focus on running without worrying whether that car headed towards me has a driver distracted by a cell phone. Bonus points for that!

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