With the popularization of running in recent years, many people have also started discovering mountain running. Today I will share some things I wish I had known when I first started trail running, along with tips and details that may help beginners and provide a different perspective for those already practicing the sport.
For me, there is no greater freedom than running on trails surrounded by nature. I believe that many of the truly important things for running and connecting with what’s around us are not something you can buy.
When we begin a new sport, or even “transition” into another, such as road runners who want to start experimenting with trails, it’s natural to be flooded with content about what gear you need to buy for this new practice.
From my own experience, you don’t need a specific pair of shoes to run most trails we have in Brazil. Here where I live and train, Floresta da Tijuca, I can do practically all the trails in the region wearing regular road running shoes. Of course, there are some limitations, but I believe this is the best way to take your first steps on the trail, especially since if you don’t end up liking it, you won’t have invested anything.
To optimize your trail running, you certainly need to train some areas and mobility that conventional weight training does not cover. A type of workout that I love and cannot live without is joint mobility. I usually have a fixed routine with exercises to strengthen and protect the areas we work the most in trail running.
In this case, I recommend consulting a qualified professional to prescribe strengthening workouts, but I believe everything is valid when it comes to mountain running. Sometimes doing a run while interacting with the environment—jumping over obstacles that appear along the way, running and balancing on the curb, or even training on sand—dynamic workouts like these help us adapt to trail running, where quicker reflexes are required.
There will be days when you’ll need to decide whether to turn back without reaching the summit you had planned, or to keep going because you trust your training even in adverse conditions. The point is: on the trail you can’t just stop and catch the bus home. The more you train your mind to handle solitude and decision-making, the better.
Sometimes this means pushing a little further even knowing that your supplies and hydration are limited, and you might struggle at the end of your run. Or adapting to the time/distance ratio, which is completely different in trails compared to road running. Over time you’ll understand how your body works and what your limits are, but it’s undeniable that mountain running is a risk sport. So, we need to be prepared to handle those risks when they come.
Without a doubt, the best way to make our sport grow is through group training. Perhaps this is the real magic of mountain running: everyone suffers the same! In a race, the first and the last runner took a very similar number of steps and burned a relatively similar number of calories. That unites us like no other sport.
Gathering friends for a crossing or a weekend training session, organizing a trip to take part in a race—these are ways to strengthen running in your region. Nowadays we have various platforms and opportunities to challenge ourselves while spending quality time with friends on the trails.
Your body speaks, and it will signal where you need to intervene. Sometimes we want to skip steps and forget to enjoy the moment. It is possible to run trails with longevity and vitality; you just need patience and to connect with yourself. It’s not a special gift or something only a few people can do.
I’ll leave you with a reading tip: the book “Born to Run”. In it, we see how running is simple and natural, and it’s an incredible source of inspiration for runners. I often say that every runner should read the “bible” of running, hahaha.
This post is also available in: Português (Portuguese (Brazil)) Español (Spanish)
