It is no surprise that, as runners, our feet can get pretty beaten up. This is especially true as we move up into the world of ultra-distance running. It has left me wondering if trail running is better for my feet in a relative sense.
On the whole, trail running is better for your feet. Most trails consist of compact dirt, gravel, and grass. All of these have much less impact on your feet while running, compared to pavement. Trail running shoes have wider toe boxes placing less stress on ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints.
Let’s take a closer look at all of the ways that trail running is better for your feet as well as ways to minimize foot injuries while out on the trails.
Is Trail Running Better For Your Feet
My short answer is that trail running is better for your feet and that all of the types of running you do will benefit from incorporating at least some trail running into your program so that your feet can become stronger and consequently make you a better runner.
I have to add here that I am making the assumption that you are starting from a healthy, uninjured perspective. Your foot and ankle need to compensate for the uneven surface of the trail which is what makes it beneficial from the perspective of strengthening your feet. However, if you are already injured or have plantar or knee issues then running on a technical, rocky trail could make them worse.
On the positive side, if you do have a foot issue or are recovering from an issue then you will be looking to run where there is less surface density. This is where trail running can be a benefit to your recovery as long as you stick to “easy” trails that are smooth with soft dirt or grass underfoot and leave the rocky mountain trails to another day.
The Benefits of Trail Running for Feet
Easily the biggest benefit that trail running has for your feet is the reduced impact. If you are running on gravel, grass, or packed dirt, the softer surface means that the bones in your feet and your ankle joints endure a lot less impact stress.
The next benefit that trail running has for your feet is the varied terrain that you get to run on. When you run on pavement, the even surface can actually be a hindrance to your improvement as a runner. Not only does the uniform surface of pavement not allow your feet to adapt to stresses from different directions, the camber/angle of the road means that you are constantly running in the same off-balance body position.
Our bodies try to compensate for the off-balance position created by the road camber. In my case, it was gradually developing hip misalignment over years of just running on the road. My path to regaining hip alignment and mobility required sessions with a physical therapist as well as moving my running onto the trails.
Common Foot Injuries in Trail Running
Even though trail running is better for your feet in terms of injury prevention, I’m not saying that it is impossible for your feet to get hurt out on the trails. For instance, stubbing a toe against a rock isn’t something that will happen to you while running on the road.
That being said, here are the 6 most common running injuries that are associated with trail running. Five of them are foot/ankle injuries while the sixth will affect your feet as well if left untreated.
You will notice that these injuries are not exclusively the domain of trail runners. However, they are common due to the nature of trail running makes an average runner susceptible to these injuries. Knowing about them will make it possible to take the preventative measures needed to stay injury-free.
Metatarsalgia
To put it simply, metatarsal pain is discomfort in the small bones within the ball of your foot. Metatarsalgia can often start as a small bruise, with slight discomfort, but can quickly escalate into a serious injury such as a metatarsal fracture.
This is exactly what happened to me in 2014. I got to try out a pair of lightweight racing flats. The Spanish trail that I was on included a couple of miles on an antique Roman road. Think cobblestones that were each about 10 to 15 inches across that had been eroding for 2,000 years. The thin layer of foam under the balls of my feet was no match for the miles of broken cobblestones. The balls of my feet were visibly bruised for at least a week after the run.
Luckily for us, most quality trail running shoes these days are built with a rock plate, which is a rigid piece of plastic within the midsole. The rock plate is designed to offer protection against sharp edges on the trail and is essential when running on more technical terrain when facing rocks, roots, and uneven surfaces. This is what I needed on that 2,000-year-old cobbled Roman road.
If you are in doubt, and you’re unsure how serious the injury is, take an extra day or two off from running to allow your feet to recover as a precautionary measure. Cross-train in the pool or on the bike instead. However, I found that mountain biking didn’t help much as my clip-in pedals hit me right on my bruises.
Achilles Tendonitis
Trail running seems to consist of either going up or down with hardly a flat mile. Long, sustained climbing can add stress to your Achilles tendon.
Achilles tendinitis can be either a sharp or dull pain in your Achilles heel, though it can extend into your lower calf which is what happened to me. Because the Achilles tendon is such an essential part of your running economy, we need to address the symptoms early or else risk the tendinitis becoming long-lasting.
When you take up trail running, make sure to ease your way into it, and not increase your mileage too quickly. I find that doing a proper warm-up with calf raises and some stabilizing exercises before I hit the trail can help prevent tendinitis and also eliminates the period at the beginning of my run when it feels like I am running on stiff legs.
Another hack that I have picked up over the years is when I am on a really long climb, I power-hike my way up instead of running. The stress on my Achilles tendon is a lot less and I end up not being much slower than I would be if I was running.
Ankle Sprains
An ankle sprain is unfortunately one of the more common injuries we get while trail running. Thanks to the rugged terrain, all it takes is a lapse of concentration or one wrong step and we roll an ankle.
When you sprain an ankle, what happens is you essentially stretch the ligaments beyond their maximum range or tear them in more serious cases. The immediate signs include swelling, often around the top, or lateral side, of your foot, and from my experience, searing pain, and tenderness.
An ankle sprain always means taking time off from running to allow the injury to heal properly or else you risk re-injury and causing more permanent damage. Begin with the R.I.C.E. protocol which includes rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
This will reduce swelling, and allow pain to subside. If I’m lucky, and if the sprain isn’t serious, I will wrap/brace my ankle and continue running.
If the pain persists even after an extended rest, or the pain is extreme and sharp immediately when you roll your ankle, contact a healthcare professional to rule out more serious injuries like a tear or rupture.
Blisters
There was a stage in my trail running when I was doing massive mileage and blisters were so common that I didn’t even think of them as a foot injury as such. Being out on the trails for extended periods of time can eventually cause your feet to begin to rub, creating a blister.
I find that when my socks get damp from sweat in the heat of summer I am prone to getting a blister during a really long run. If I head out onto the trails on a rainy winter’s day, running for more than 2 hours in soaked shoes is usually enough to give me a blister. I haven’t tried a swim/run race like O-Till-O but I can imagine that swimming in my trail shoes, then running will be hell for my feet.
Blisters will often start small with a hotspot somewhere on my foot. The blister will get progressively worse if I don’t address the chafing straight away. The one thing that made a huge difference in minimizing hot spots, chafing, and blisters was when I started using Injinji running socks (available on Amazon). When I go out for a full day in the mountains I will always have a fresh, dry pair in my hydration pack to change into. When I ran the “Integral de los 3000 Sierra Nevada” in Spain, a couple of summers ago, I rotated my socks, clipping a pair to the outside of my pack to dry out while I wore the other pair.
ITB Syndrome
Although ITB syndrome is not a foot injury in the direct sense, it has led to some foot problems for me when I ignored it for too long.
The IT band is stressed most at certain flexion angles when either ascending or descending and stems from imbalances and weaknesses in the hip area that in turn create lateral stress on my knees. My downfall was to change the way my feet landed while running to alleviate the pain in my knees rather than address the ITB issue.
As you can imagine, this was less than optimal and I sidelined myself with completely preventable Achilles tendonitis. So, if you learn anything from my foolishness, invest in a proper foam roller and incorporate it into your weekly routine even when you don’t feel any niggles or pain.
Plantar Fasciitis
Luckily I haven’t been struck down by this pesky injury, though a few of my friends have. Plantar fasciitis happens when you get inflammation within the tissue on the underside of your feet that connect your heel and toes. You experience it as pain that can be anywhere from your heel to the ball of your feet and can be sharp or dull.
Although this might not be the most accurate way to describe the plantar fascia, I think of it as the “ITB of my foot” and I roll it once a week with a tennis ball, during the same session as I do my ITB with my foam roller.
The Benefits Of A Wide Toe Box In Trail Running Shoes
I have found that switching to trail shoes that have a wider toe box has been beneficial. My road shoes still have a normal toe box, but I don’t spend nearly as much time in them on each run.
However, my trail shoes often carry me for whole days in the mountains and the wider toe box gives me the space for my toes to swell a bit, which they tend to do during hot summer days. Combined with my Injinji socks, the wider toe box has more or less solved my problem with blisters – except when I run too far in a brand-new pair of shoes out of the box.
I can’t say for sure that it was the wider toe box, but my Achilles problem cleared after I made the switch. The same held true for my friend’s plantar fasciitis.