Why you should Trail Run

Scenery, low impact and low stress are just a few of the multiple factors that can come as benefits when incorporating trail running into your triathlon training. Triathlon is a complex sport when it comes to buying equipment, fitting in lots of training and the hitting those all important numbers. Trail running has plenty of its own challenges, especially at the start, but once you get going you can reap plenty of benefits from going off road. Running is simple, let’s not forget that! 

Here are 5 top reasons why you should add some trail running into your training:

1. Lowering Injury Risk

Bashing away on the road all the time is all well and good but there is nothing worse than missing out on training altogether because you’ve picked up an injury from doing it too much. When running on the road you are sending up to three times the amount of force through your body than you would if you were to run off road meaning you have a higher chance of injury. To combat this, head to the trails to allow your body to gain some recovery.

2. Increases Strength

A second benefit of trail running is the strength that you can gain by running off road. As a triathlete you need to be both fast and strong. You are competing in a strength endurance sport! It’s common knowledge in the running world that if you want to get fast, head to the hills. If you are strong on the hills, this will equate to being fast on the flat. So by running off road on the trails you are bound to come across a good amount of hills, so you are naturally getting in that strength. This will ultimately help you come race season as you will be able to maintain your pace all the way to the finish because you will be strong enough to do so whilst those who aren’t will slow down towards the end.

3. Improves balance

With trail running comes a mixture of terrain, this in turn will improve your balance, co-ordination and agility as a runner. When running on awkward surfaces that is constantly changing, you will be forced to use all your muscle groups, not just your legs, from top to bottom. To maintain your balance on the trails your core will engage fully, something you don’t get so much on the flat. Who doesn’t want a six pack!?

4. Scenery

Avoid the boredom! The regular training routine, running around the same track lap after lap can at times get a little bit mundane. One of the great things about running off road is the scenery that is on offer to you. It’s sometimes hard on a road where all you can see is houses and cars but when getting onto the trails there is so much more to see from hills to mountains, there is a lot of great scenery out there wherever you are. This will help you stay engaged and give you more consistency.

5. Emotional wellbeing

The final benefit of trail running is helping your emotional wellbeing. Life can be stressful, it has become a big part of peoples lives, especially if you are trying to juggle your training with a job and a family. If your stress levels are reduced you can train better and this will conclude in better racing. Stress has a negative effect on energy levels so try to get on the trails and allow you head to get some space!